Egyptian Desire
by DoilyRox
Summary: Shemei is the most flirtatious girl at Karakura High. Being bored with all the usual students, when she meets Rukia, her topsy-turvy world as the adopted niece of Urahara Kisuke spikes as she travels with the gang to make sure her play-thing isn't harmed. DROPPED.
1. Prologue

The woman ran faster than she had ever run before. Her breath pounded in her lungs as she clutched the infant to her chest. Her feet pounded on the pavement as she made a quick left turn onto a major road, the street practically empty. Street lights came and went, but the woman never stopped running. Left, right, another left. The darkness of the night that shrouded her and her baby was only illuminated by the ringed moon that hung in the air, mocking her and her attempts to save the innocent life in her arms. No stars were out tonight to guide the way, just the taunting moon in the sky. Not pausing for a moment, she ran into the graveyard where she had planned earlier to meet the infant's godmother, her only hope. She spotted the woman from a distance, though her purple hair and dark skin was hard to call out in the night. She ran faster, calling out to the baby's hopeful savior.

"Yoruichi-san!" The woman's worried yellow eyes quickly shaped into shock at the sight of the mother running up to her. She ran up to the woman, meeting her halfway. Placing her hands on the woman's shoulders, she tried to calm her. "Please!" The woman begged, thrusting the infant out to the woman, "Please, take her! You're her only hope, we wouldn't trust her to anyone else!" Yoruichi's eyes grew the slightest bit wider before understanding entered them, then dismay.

"Where's Jibade? Where's Khai?" Yoruichi tried to stay calm for the woman, but calling out her husband's name didn't do any good.

"Fighting for our life! Her life!" She shrugged the baby, motioning to it. "Now please! You helped Khai stay out of suspicion! Please, can't you do the same for her?" Yoruichi gulped, Khai was a near full grown man when she took him in, not an infant. But as she gazed down on the baby' sleeping face, she couldn't help but feel a connection to it. She sighed, and the woman's eyes instantly perked with the happiness of knowing her baby would be safe.

"What's her name?" Yoruichi asked as she grabbed the baby softly and tucked it into her arms. The woman exhaled with relief.

"Shemei, all of her belongings and the important ones of ours are at the shrine, basement level. She must not know of her heritage, for if she does, others surely will to." The woman sniffled as she leaned down to kiss the top of her baby's head one last time, a tear dropping softly onto the infant's cheek. As the woman turned around to run back to her husband's aid, Yoruichi grabbed the woman's arm.

"Will you be back for her, Misa-chan?" The woman glanced down and softly shook her head no. Unable to resist, she grabbed Yoruichi into a hug, then darted off, never to see her child again. Yoruichi's eyes saddened as she looked down at the infant. Dark brown hair, almost black, matched with the tan skin that made her appear Arabian. She would tell the infant as she got older that her parents were archaeologists, and all that was hers were her parent's finds. That would be a good cover story. Though she knew she couldn't carry the child around with her, not to all the places she went, she did know someone who could look after the infant. Using shunpo to get to the Urahara Shoten, she entered without knocking, knowing that the owner of the shop already knew she was there. Heading to the back with the baby in hand, she slid the door to the dining room open. Sitting down across the table from the blonde man with a white and green stripped hat, she saw that his eyes went directly to the baby in shock.

"Is that who I think it is?" His voice was weary, it wasn't everyday his best friend entered with a baby in hand.

"Heir to the exterminated fifth noble house, Jibade Shemei." His lips pulled into a slight frown at Yoruichi's simple, yet informative statement.

"Exterminated? So Khai is…" He faded off at Yoruichi's sad nod. "And Misa?" She sighed, the gesture alone meant that the mother's fate was soon to be the same. Both Urahara's and Yoruichi's face looked resigned. "How old is it?"

Yoruichi leaned over the table and handed the baby to him, to let her get a feel for him. "A week less than a year. Seems like her first birthday will be with us." Urahara examined the baby, it was small, to be expected of a year old infant.

"Us? So you'll be staying for awhile." The statement was more of a question. The baby was starting to wake, so he slowly started rocking it as he had seen Misa do so many times.

"That, too." Her simple response shocked him a bit. He turned his eyes toward her, hesitance showing.

"Yoruichi, I don't think we can handle a baby. Does Misa have no relatives?" Yoruichi sent him a shockingly spiteful glare.

"Kisuke, I hardly doubt any of _those_ people would be suited for a child. And I can't take her with me; she'll have to stay here." Her gaze softened as she looked to the gold bundle. "I'll visit, and besides, as her godmother, I promised to take care of her should anything happen." Urahara sighed in defeat.

"Even though I hardly think passing her off to me is taking care of her, I'll do my best." His eyes widened as he looked into the now open eyes of the baby. "She really does look like her father." Yoruichi nodded as the baby was passed back to her, uncrying hazel brown eyes stared up at her. The only tears on her face were those of her mother, which had still yet to dry. The beautiful brown blots were filled with curiosity, and as the huge hazel eyes caught Yoruichi's gaze, they seemed to find what they were looking for. They shut, and the baby cuddled into Yoruichi's chest, slowly falling back asleep. Urahara laughed softly at the baby's calm nature.

"She's going to look like her aunt." Catching Urahara's curious gaze, she elaborated, laughing softly. "Father's side." Urahara nodded, and watched the baby fade back into the safety of her dream world.


	2. Flirty Mei! My Goddess, Rukia!

**Here it is folks! The second chapter of Egyptian Desire! Please read and review, and treat the story with kind eyes, for I love you all! Please tell me in reviews how I got Rukia's personality down, is it good or not? My sister forced me to do hard labor for this chapter, so please appreciate it! Sincerely, Dr.**

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Shemei hit the alarm mere milliseconds before it went off. Sitting up, she stared at the calendar on the wall to the front of her bed. _Monday, time for school_; routine thoughts ran through her sleepy head. Checking the time, she got up and went to the bathroom that her uncle built right next to her room. Well, more like friend-of-the-family, Tessai wasn't really her uncle. Then again, Kisuke wasn't either, but she considered them both to be. Sliding the door open, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her dark brown, seemingly black hair went down to about half a foot past her neck. She never really got bed hair because she always braided it before she went to sleep. Her hazel eyes blinked at her own reflection, and she rubbed them to get the crusties out. Looking passively under the sink to make sure she had set her clothes out, she hoped in the shower. As the hot water fell against her tan skin, she found herself happily ready for another day at school. She had missed it Saturday, she had a doctor's appointment. As shocking as it was to see the giant hole in the side of the Kurosaki house/clinic, the dad of the family, Kurosaki Isshin explained that a truck rammed into their house in the middle of the night. Sighing, still disappointed that she didn't see Ichigo there, she jammed off the hot water and dried off with a towel. Slipping into her button up white shirt and overtop gray uniform, she walked through her bedroom. Going into her rather colorful closet, she picked up her school bag and tossed it over her shoulder. Then she walked over to the armoire on the other side of the room, and opened up her jewelry box. There lay a few pairs of earrings and necklaces her friends or misfit family had given her. Picking out her favorite one, her favorite of all the ones her parents had passed down to her, she wrapped the small gold chain around her neck. On it was three gold charms, a scarab beetle, a cobra, and a bird. _Kite,_ she corrected herself, _it's called a kite_. All three were inlaid with small, but priceless rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. She ran a hand over the charms, and the image of her mother and father popped into her head. Grabbing the picture frame to the right of the armoire, she smiled at the small, but happy family she once had.

"Wish me another great day at school, Mama, Papa." With that, she put down the frame and glanced at the clock. _Crap! Too long of a shower! I'm going to be late!_ She raced out of the room, only to stop herself from running into a wall. Smacking herself on the head for being forgetful, she raced back into her room. Grabbing a ponytail, she raced to put her hair up as she ran back out of her room and up the small flight of stairs into the shop part of the house. Running into the small dining room in the back she slid open the door and grabbed a piece of toast off the table. Stuffing it in her mouth, she was about to run out the other door when Urahara called her name.

"Mei-chan!" Rolling her eyes at the affectionate nickname he had given her, she turned to face him.

"Yeah?" He smiled at her past his newspaper.

"You have a new student in your class, she started Saturday." Shemei (Mei for short) raised an a single black eyebrow. Taking the piece of toast out of her mouth before Tessai scolded her, she spoke.

"You would know this… how?" He shrugged as Tessai sat down the rest of the breakfast on the table.

"She came in here for a Gigai the other day." Mei furrowed her brows.

"Why would she- oh never mind. Her business is her own. You've got to stop making me curious like that!" She crammed the toast back in her mouth as she raced out of the shop. Running down the street she devoured her toast hungrily. _I wonder if she's cute…_ She thought absentmindedly as she ran into the school gates.

"Ah- Mei!" Stopping at the sound of her name, she turned around to see Arisawa Tatsuki running up to her, Inoue Orihime following closely behind. Giving her friend a high five as she reached her, she grinned as she looked to the big-breasted princess beside her.

"Hime-chan!" Mei pounced on the girl, wrapping her arms around her chest and burying her head in the nape of the girl's neck. Tatsuki sweatdropped before getting a pulsing vain on her head. "I missed you!!! I didn't get to see you Saturday, so I was left _all _day to think about you! I only got to rest when I fell asleep! But that wasn't really a rest, 'cus what I dreamt about wasn't restful at all!" She snuggled the girl, who was laughing nervously.

"Give it a break Mei! Nobody wants to hear about what you did to poor Orihime in your dreams!" Tatsuki pulled Mei from the girl, and putting her hands on Mei's shoulders, she turned her around and started directing her toward the school. Mei tilted her head back to look Tatsuki in the eye. Tatsuki gulped, she'd seen that look, it was the look Mei gave when she was thinking something dirty. Mei grinned.

"I never said it was about Hime-chan, now did I?" Tatsuki felt a nervous chill go down her back before she punched Mei on the head.

"Not even Hell's going to take a perverted fiend like you." Mei laughed and followed her classmates down the hall and up the stairs to their homeroom. Once in, she found her eyes to be attracted to one person in the middle of the room, conversing with Ichigo. She had shoulder length black hair, and violet eyes. Gorgeous violet eyes. She felt a grin come to her cheeks. She saw that Ichigo had seen the look in her eyes and sweatdropped, then followed her gaze not to him, but to the girl beside him. His eyes widened, realizing what Mei was going to do. But alas, he was too late, for in the middle of her sentence, Rukia was interrupted.

"In fact, I'm fro-ack!" Mei had come up behind the girl and jumped on her back. Mei was slightly smaller than Rukia, so the girl didn't collapse under the weight of another body. As Mei's thighs wrapped on either side of the Rukia's hips, her skirt went up a little. Ichigo looked away, face red. Mei wrapped her arms around the bodice of the girl, feeling her up as she did so. The guys who Rukia was talking to, other than Ichigo, were Asano Keigo and Kojima Mizuiro, and both sweatdropped at the rather normal, but still unexpected acts of their pervert classmate. Rukia's face turned a cherry red in under a second as she felt Mei touch her.

"What's a beautiful goddess like you doing in this rundown city? Did the angel fall from heaven? Well now, welcome to Hell, allow me to be your personal guide to a better place." As Mei talked, she slipped a hand under the back of the girl's shirt, feeling along her spine. She felt the girl shiver under her touch. All three guys, as well as some of the other classmates sweatdropped even more at the corny pick up line.

"I-I beg your pardon?! Please, I-I must insist th-that you do-" She felt Mei trace her skirt line, as if toying with the idea of putting her hands down it. _"Do Not Touch Me There!"_ Mei giggled coyly as she retracted her hand from the girl's waist, going instead for the girl's chest this time.

"As you wish my love, as you wish." Mei pressed her lips to the back of the girl's neck, already mentally undressing her. She blinked, as if something struck her, then her eyes retained that dirty, flirty look of hers as she leaned over the girls shoulder and whispered in her ear, "You know, you smell real good too…" Just as she reached the girls bra, the violet eyed goddess seemed to snap out of her daze. Rukia grabbed both of Mei's hands with her own, one reaching across her waist, the other that was under her shirt she grabbed from on top, thereby halting the flirtatious efforts of the girl on her back.

"G-Get off of me!" Rukia's cherry red face reminded Mei of a plum. She _loved_ plums. Just as Ichigo's eye finished twitching, as he was about to grab Mei off of Rukia, the teacher stepped in. Out of nowhere, a piece of chalk hit Mei right on the center of her forehead, knocking her head back, and successfully getting her off of Rukia.

"No harassing other students in my presence, Mei! I thought I told you that the first day of school!" The strict, but relatively funny brown haired teacher snapped at the young flirtatious girl. Sighing with defeat, she slumped, her fun was ruined.

"Yes, ma'am." With that she walked back to her seat, aware of the giggles and laughter of her being the last one there. She did catch, however, the near terrified glance Rukia (she had gathered the girls name from all the whispers that went around while she played with the girl) threw at her as she got in her seat. She was the last seat in the third row from the door, there being four rows in total. There were two people in between her and Rukia, who was also seated in her row. One of them being Mizuiro, one of her friends, she listened in as he whispered to the girl over her shoulder.

"Don't worry, it's just Mei. That's her way of saying she likes you." Rukia nodded, and Mei smiled, the class knew her to well.

"Mei!" Her head shot up at the sound of her name. The teacher spoke to her with half the class laughing quietly, "I called your name to come up here and solve the problem on the board! Now if you would stop day dreaming about Kuchiki-san, I would appreciate it if you would!" Mei grinned playfully.

"Dang, got caught." She stood and walked to the board as the class laughed at her joke, causing, she noticed, Rukia to blush and look at her desk, where a notebook full of…drawings? Yes, drawings lay. She could feel the girl's eyes on her back as she walked past and up to the board, piece of chalk that the teacher threw at her in her hand. She finished the math problem easily, she had already read the chapter they were going over today in her book Sunday, to make sure she didn't fall behind in class. Placing her chalk on the board railing, she looked to the teacher, who in turn, nodded that the answer was right. As she walked back, she threw a smile at the violet eyed wonder, who blushed once more to look at her book. She full out grinned at the shyness of the girl and walked back to her seat. Sliding into it, she let the rest of the day pass by, that was, until lunch.

----- With Rukia and Ichigo

By the time lunch came around, Rukia was sick of the feeling that someone was undressing her with their eyes, so she quickly ran up to the roof, where she and Ichigo usually ate lunch. As if on cue, Ichigo followed her up to the roof with their lunches (she had conveniently forgot it on her way out of the homeroom). Tossing her bento and juice to her, she caught it and looked at him worriedly.

"Is that sort of greeting normal?" She asked, fear reaching her eyes. Ichigo scoffed at the look, and quickly answered as both Keigo and Mizuiro made their way to the roof behind him.

"If it was anyone other than Mei that had done that, I'd tell you to be scared, but the girl is known for that sort of stuff, so you should just ignore her." It was Rukia's turn to scoff.

"Easy for you to say." She started to eat her bento as the two others and Chad made their way over to the group and sat down. Ichigo rolled his eyes, Rukia had no idea.

"Actually, I was surprised when she went for Rukia-chan and not you, Ichigo." Mizuiro said as he dug into his sandwich.

"Yeah," Keigo said, his mouth partially full of spring rolls, "But you know, I was surprised when she actually stopped from going down your skirt when you asked." All three of the guys nodded at that. Rukia looked confused, what did they mean? Did she usually do a lot worse? And what's all this about Ichigo and the girl? She was about to voice her worries when Ichigo spoke again.

"She probably wants a new play-thing, and let's face it, Rukia is fresh bait." Rukia paled.

"So, wait, that means she's going to do that again?" Her look was fearful, but the guys around her looked to each other before giving it to her straight.

"Every day. Or, every time she see's you, but it'll be worse when she see's you for the first time of a day." Ichigo decided to give the news to her, and all the guys nodded. Rukia's eyes widened. Catching this, and not wanting to scare the girl into not coming to school with him, he tried to calm her down. "But don't worry, she'll calm down a bit about you in awhile, she probably just got excited today. As long as me, or Tatsuki for that matter, are around, she won't go that far. We can pull her off you, nobody else seems able to." The guys nodded at that, the only people able to pull of the girl were the two mentioned.

"The teacher will probably keep a close eye on her too, so you don't have to worry about that." Mizuiro spoke this time, and Rukia calmly nodded her head.

"What's her name again? Mei?" Rukia asked, she'd have to put it down to avoid her.

Keigo nodded, seeing as everyone else's mouth was full. "Well, her whole names Jibade Shemei, but she doesn't answer to anything else but Mei." Rukia's eyebrows furrowed.

"Odd name, she doesn't look Japanese, either." Rukia pointed out. The guys nodded again, and once more, Keigo elaborated.

"Supposedly, her dad's Arabian and her mom's Japanese, and she takes after her dad. Not that that matters, seeing how both are gone now." Seeing Rukia's shocked expression, he continued. "Her mom and dad were archaeologists, you see. They made lots of big finds down in Egypt, mummies and treasure and that sort of thing. Well, one of their colleagues got jealous, and figured if he could get away with murder, their next big find would be his. So he killed them, but he got found out. Got sent right off to jail, life sentence. All that gold and treasure went right on down to baby Mei, and she stays with her godmother's friend who owns a shop." Rukia nodded, and looked down over the edge of the gated roof to where the girl was sitting under a tree with the rest of the girls in her class. Pity and sadness engulfed her eyes. Ichigo, not liking the thought of someone actually pitying the girl, quickly made a few corrections to Mei's sap story.

"Not that she minds living with the guy, she even told me she doesn't remember her parents at all. They died a week before her first birthday so it's like the only family she knows is the family at the shop. Her dad doesn't have any relatives; I think she told me once. And her mom's family is a bunch of drunkards and drugies. She doesn't like them very much, so she only considers the people at the shop and her godmother family." The more he explained, the less happy the girl seemed to feel, exactly the opposite of what he wanted. Sighing, he tried one last motive, "You know, if she saw you looking at her like that, with sadness and all, she'd kiss you just to get a different expression on your face." Rukia's head swerved around to stare at Ichigo with a mixture of shock and fear.

"Sh-She wouldn't!" Rukia exclaimed, fearful of the thought of a girl kissing her.

"Oh ho ho, but she would." Keigo guaranteed.

"Yep, Mei-chan is an oddball alright." Mizuiro nodded, eating the last of his sandwich. Chad nodded at that comment. Everyone agreed.

----- With Mei

As if sneezing all throughout lunch wasn't bad enough, having her new toy avoid her the rest of the day was really starting to nag at her. She wasn't that ugly right? She had to check. She turned to Tatsuki, who was talking to Orihime while all three of them walked down the hall to their Home Ec. Class.

"Hey Tatsuki-chan?" She grabbed the girls attention, "Am I ugly?" Her eyes widened in shock of the question, and automatically, she assumed the worst.

"Who the _hell_ called you ugly?" Her fist shook as her eyes went aflame. Mei sweatdropped, that wasn't the result she wanted.

"Nobody, nobody! Calm down, I was just wondering!" Sighing with relief as Tatsuki did as she was told, she soon got an answer.

"Well, you're not gorgeous, but that's simply because like me you don't have large curves. Like her." She shoved her thumb at Orihime, who was humming happily. "But," Mei's eyes travel back to the fighter, "you're anything but ugly. I mean, if you were, would your locker be overflowing every Valentine's day?" Mei sweatdropped, that was true.

"Alright, thanks." She said as she walked over to her table. She never had a partner in this class, so seeing the assignment on the board; she quickly started to rinse the vegetables. They would be making a vegetable stew. As she rinsed a carrot, her thoughts wondered to her favorite carrot tops reaction to her attack on Rukia this morning. It was rare when she couldn't read someone's expression, but that was one of the times. She didn't notice the teacher was standing in front of her table until he cleared his throat. "Ah sorry!" She said out of habit when she looked up at the burly man. He shoved a thumb to his right at the student beside him.

"You're sharing a table from now on." Just as she was about to complain, she looked over to the student. Her eyes widened as she grinned. Standing there looking really scared was none other than the new transfer student, the violet eyed Kuchiki Rukia. She shrank her grin into a smile and happily spoke to the teacher.

"Not a problem teach. I was needin' some help with the veggies here, too." He grinned; he hadn't expected the girl to actually be happy about a partner. Nodding his acceptance, he walked off. Rukia looked nervously at Mei, who gave the girl a soft smile, not wanting to scare her off. "Don't worry, I don't flirt around knives, I personally think it's a bad idea." Rukia nodded, though her gaze was still unsure. "Well, don't just stand there, come wash off these veggies so I can start choppin' them."

"O-Oh, sorry…" She trailed off as she came behind the counter and quickly rinsed off her hands.

"Here," Mei said as she held the carrot out for her to get. She hesitated, but quickly grabbed it and started to wash it off. "Hey," Mei said, looking the girl softly in the eyes, and when the girl didn't meet them, she dried off a hand and tilted Rukia's head towards hers. The violet eyes met her hazel ones. "I'm not going to hurt you," she explained, though Rukia looked unsure, "Especially not in here. So at least in here, you're safe." Dropping her hand from the girls chin, she went back to her work. She felt the eyes stay on her as she pulled out a cutting board and knife. But they left as Mei grabbed the now thoroughly rinsed carrot from her and started chopping it. "Oh!" She said as if something had just struck her, she saw Rukia tense up a bit, "Water! We need to boil the water in the pot!" She laughed at herself as she filled the pot of water and set it on the stove. Soon though, she was handed a peeled potato, and Rukia and Mei worked together in silence.

As the end of class came, Rukia found the knot she tied on her apron to keep it from coming off served its purpose all too well. Hearing laughing coming from behind her, she stiffened as she felt hands help her with the knot on her back. "Do you always stiffen up like that when someone tries to help you?" She recognized the voice as Mei.

"Not really…" Rukia died off as she dropped her hands to her side, and soon the apron came off. Feeling Mei's hands come up to her neck, she froze as the girl pulled the apron off from around her neck. She watched as the girl came around to her front, both of their aprons slung over her arm.

"Just me, ne?" She asked, smiling at Rukia as she tilted her head. Not waiting for an answer, she went over to the side of the room and hung up their aprons, grabbing her bag as she did so. Rukia watched as she left the room, since that was the last class of the day, she noted that the girl was probably going home. _What's wrong with me?_ Rukia scolded herself, frowning as she got her bag and walked out of the classroom. _She's just a human girl! Yes, you're freaking out because a human girl touched you!_ Rukia sighed to herself. Mentally scolding herself wasn't going to work, she knew it. _So tomorrow, I'll act normal, stop trying to avoid her, and try to find out why she…_ Her thoughts faded off as she met Ichigo by the front gate. _Yes, there's no harm in trying to get to know the girl._ She resisted a shiver as thoughts about the morning class ran through her head. _Or maybe I'll just talk to her in Home Ec._

----- Mei

Mei's school day ended with a dose of sadness as she saw that Rukia was more scared of her than scared of what Mei did to her. Mei had decided that Rukia was an odd one, after all, why would a Shinigami go to a high school? _Probably to keep close to Ichigo_, Mei noted. Ichigo no longer had the aura of a human, but a Shinigami. So Mei assumed that Rukia had given her powers up to him. _Now she needs his help. _Shrugging it off, she walked past the bickering Jinta and Ururu, not in the mood to play with either of them. Going to her room, she took off her necklace and pulled down her hair. Sitting in the chair in front of her armoire, she picked up a brush and started pulling it through her hair. After getting all the tangles out of it, she braided it before flipping it over her shoulder onto her back. Switching out of her school clothes, she pulled on an extra large white t-shirt that dwarfed her. She then pulled on some flannel plaid pants. Deciding to do something with the rest of her day, she went upstairs and started organizing the new shipments in the storage room. Though some of the boxes were heavy, most were relatively light. Nonetheless, she was able to complete her work before being called to dinner. Walking into the dining room, she helped herself to the meal on the table. Urahara looked her over.

"Your day not go well?" She gave him a tired look.

"I accidently scared off the new girl." He laughed behind his fan.

"I didn't think it'd be that quick." She picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and threw it at his face for the snide comment, he dodged it of course. Tessai sent her a scolding look for throwing food at the table.

"What's the new girl like?" Jinta asked, last time he made fun of Mei being bi, he was sent wondering throughout the countryside for a week, his butt sore the whole time. Mei sighed, she didn't feel like describing the beauty to someone who wouldn't understand.

"She came in a few days ago for her Gigai. Kuchiki Rukia, I think her name was." Jinta's eyes widened.

"That loser? Oh, well I can see why she'd be scared." He grew silent though, seeing Mei's death glare.

"Mei-chan, would you like more rice?" Ururu asked, politely taking her rice bowl.

"No thanks, Ururu-chan, I think I'll turn in for the night." Tessai's eyes widened at Mei's early turn in.

"Mei-dono, you need your nutrition to grow!" Mei smiled at his worry.

"Yeah, but I also need sleep." With that, she walked to her room and fell onto her bed. Turning over to set her alarm, she quickly fell asleep soon after she tucked herself in.

-----Next Morning at school

"How's my princess doing today?" Mei asked as she wrapped one arm around Rukia's waist, the other gropping the girls butt. Rukia froze as her face turned red, unable to move. Without warning, though, Ichigo came up behind Mei and pulled her off the poor Shinigami.

"Good Morning, Mei." He said as he stepped in between the two girls, sitting in his seat and propping his legs up on the desk across the row, successfully blocking any attempt Mei could make toward Rukia. Rukia shot him a thankful glance as she sat down in the seat across his legs, away from Mei.

"Aw, poor Ichigo. You getting jealous that all my attention is on Rukia now?" A vain started throbbing on his head.

"Who the hell would be jealous of that?!" He yelled at her before a schoolbag whacked him in the face from over the head. Mei saw him visibly twitch.

"You're being rather loud and annoying today, Ichigo." Tatsuki said from behind him.

"Ah, Tatsuki! My love! You saved me from being screamed at by that evil tyrant!" Mei dove over the desk and into the girl's chest. Nuzzling her head against the girl's body, she couldn't help but over hear Chizuru sniffling.

"But," The redhead exclaimed, "I thought I was your love!" She brought a handkerchief from out of seemingly nowhere and dabbed her eyes with it. Even being in the front of the room, Mei heard her from the back.

"Oh, my fiancé returns! I had thought you gone! You haven't graced my eyes with your lovely presence for so long!" Mei exclaimed, ditching Tatsuki as she opened her arms in way for a giant hug.

"Oh, Mei-chan!" Chizuru exclaimed, rushing forward.

"Chizuru-chan!" Mei exclaimed as a field of flowers magically surround the two.

"Mei!" Chizuru exclaimed, almost into her "lovers" arms.

"Chi!" Mei exclaimed as Chizuru jumped into her arms, both having tears of happiness run down their face.

"Mei-chan…" Chizuru cupped the girls face into her hand and tilted Mei's head upward toward her. "My bed has been so lonely!"

"I'm sorry, my love!" Mei exclaimed as she brought her arms around the neck of the redhead. They leaned closer, lips mere millimeters away, and then –_WHAM!!!_ Both girls fell to the ground tears of pain running down their cheeks as they nursed their ailing heads.

"Ichigo!" Mei exclaimed, calling out the name of the one that hit her.

"Tatsuki!" Chizuru did the same.

"We were having a moment!" Mei exclaimed, perfectly annoyed by the fact that the carrot top wasn't listening to her.

"You're so rude!" Chizuru yelled at the girl who was nodding to Ichigo in gratitude of stopping the other culprit.

"Exactly what she said!" Both girls yelled at the same time, only to stop and stare at each other in happiness.

"Our love has no walls!" Mei exclaimed, tossing herself into Chizuru, and nuzzling the girl like she did so often.

"Yes," Chizuru nodded, bringing the others tan face up to hers again, though this time, they only rubbed their noses against each other as the flower filled background appeared again. Her hands wrapped around Mei's waist.

"My love!" They both exclaimed at once, the perfect picture of happiness. Tatsuki sighed.

"They just don't get it, do they?" She shook her head in shame. Ichigo nodded, agreeing with her.

"You see?" He spoke to Rukia, "Absolutely nothing to be scared of." Rukia nodded, seeing now that her fears were completely irrational. _Not that I was ever scared of her in the first place._ She thought to herself.


	3. Filler! Valentine Special!

**Howdy my peeps! How all you holding up? Sorry, just got done watching a country show, it kinda rubbed off on me. But anyways, this is not the third chapter of the story, BUT is a short fic of Mei's Valentine's Day. I couldn't resist the fun, but seeing as how this has no direct relevance to the storyline, I'm not going to bother my sister (beta-er) with it. Which means all of you get the uncut joy of reading it before her! But, that also means there are probably more mistakes in this "chapter" than the other ones. My sister only does one chapter a day, so in order to keep all of you happy with new updates quickly; I can't really call this a chapter since my sis hasn't read it yet. Do you get it? She's going to beta Ch. 3 later today or tomorrow (we have very busy schedules), and since I realized that Rukia did spend April in the human world (I spent an hour going over the manga and anime for any clues as to how long she stayed), I shall show you, my loves, the pure joy of V-day! This takes place after the Gikongan (Kon took Ichigo's body for the first time) incident, so they're wearing they're spring/summer uniforms! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: (since I forgot earlier) I own nothing but my OCs and plot! (not even most of that!)  
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Valentine's Day had to be the best holiday every year. Mei would get over flowing amounts of cards, from both her female and male classmates and friends. The under years, too, would give her their Valentine chocolates and cards, hoping to be the one she chose yearly to go with her to the Valentine's Day dance. So on this very special day, she always chose a very special person to spend the day with. It was like a tradition to her, since she'd been doing it since junior high began. Last time it was Tatsuki, the time before that Orihime, and the second time she did it was with Ichigo (much to his annoyance). This time her prey was her newest friend, Kuchiki Rukia. Even though Rukia had only been in their class since early April, she had already learned the trick of how to get Mei off and away from her, something Mei respected. And as many knew, having both Mei's respect and friendship brought many rewards and privileges. So as Mai readied herself for that day, she put on her favorite perfume, shipped in from America as last year's birthday gift from her mother's family in California (the part of her birth family she actually liked). Tying her hair up in her usual high ponytail with a pink and red ribbon, she put on the bracelet and necklace she had gotten from last year's Valentine's day. They were matching gold chains, the necklace with an amethyst pendant, and the bracelet inlaid with three heart-shaped amethyst gems. So far the most expensive and beautiful gift she had gotten on Valentine's day, but then again, the record was beaten every year. So walking out the door wearing touches of pink eye shadow and a bit of black eyeliner, she caught many eyes on the way to school. In her left hand was her schoolbag, in her right was a bag full of all the things she would give away today, mostly chocolates and cards, but a special necklace for her special someone of the year. As she walked to her locker, she grabbed the string she tied to it yesterday. Inside it, there was a trap rigged up that would allow her to open her locker from a safe distance. So walking back a meter or so, she pulled the string, and at first tug the locker didn't budge. Raising an eyebrow at the failed contraption, she wrapped the string around her hand, ready to give another tug. She was completely aware of all the glances and stares she got (worried, hopeful, and otherwise) as she tugged the string again, this time with added force. As if a bomb went off inside, the locker door slammed open with enough force to dent the locker beside it, a huge garbage bag inside filled past the brim with cards and chocolates. All the cards that had either slipped out of the bag or when slipped into the locker, slid past the bag, tumbled onto the floor, covering it with a two-foot radius of pink, red, and white cards, with both little and big (how they got inside her locker every year, Mei had no clue) bags of chocolate. Mei sighed, even though she had added a garbage bag this year, some still escaped. As if she expected her contraption to fail, she pulled out a folded garbage bag out from her schoolbag. As she opened it, she saw a couple girls and guys looking like they were going to either burst into tears or have a fit (those that didn't give her anything just sweatdropped). Sighing mentally at the reoccurring problem, she got on her knees and began to push all the chocolate and cards into the bag (being eighteen gallons, it was a quarter full by the time she got done). Once everything was in it, she checked the bag in her locker for any rips or tears; not finding any, she took it off of the metal hooks at the top of her locker and tied it, setting it on the bottom of her locker. Pulling out and opening yet another garbage bag, she hooked it up where the other had been, this time making sure that there was no physically possible way to get it past the bag and on top of the already full one at the bottom. Grabbing her books, she tried to shut her locker. Failing miserably, she body-slammed it closed. Picking up the quarter full bag up off the floor where she put it, as well as her bag of goodies and schoolbag in the other hand, she walked into her classroom, looking exasperated from yet another battle with the death trap of a locker. She slugged to her desk, realizing she was one of the few of her class that was in the room. Setting up her schoolbag against her seat, and placing the bag of goodies on top of the desk, she pulled out tape from her schoolbag (it held a lot for its small shape). Taping the bag of cards and chocolates to her desk, she fixed it so that everyone that had the guts to give it to her face to face could just drop it into the bag. Sighing once more at her lack of friends in the room, she felt hands cover her eyes.

"Guess who?" Chizuru's voice came from behind her. Mei smiled at the girls antics.

"Chizuru-chan! I've got something for you!" She heard the girl gasp before removing her hands from Mei's eyes, allowing light to fill the girls vision once more. Mei reached into her bag of goodies, shuffling through it until she found Chizuru's gift. The girl had come around Mei's desk, sitting in the one in front of hers. Mei handed Chizuru the small bag of chocolate that was tied with a red ribbon, and a pink envelope. Chizuru grinned as she took the objects from Mei, and opened up the card immediately. She 'aw'-ed, as hearts took her eyes. Without warning, she pounced over the desk, about to plant her lips on Mei's, but only made it halfway as Tatsuki had caught the back of her collar.

"You again…" Chizuru growled at the tomboy, and Mei beamed up at the girl, already shuffling through her bag for the girl's gift. Pulling out Tatsuki's card and candy, then Orihime's (the girl, like always, was right behind her friend), she handed them their gifts.

"Thanks Mei." Tatsuki said as she grabbed the card and candy and slipped it into her bag before shuffling through it for Mei's gift.

"Thanks Mei-chan! It means a lot! Here, I made you some lime pudding cake with salsa and rice crackers!" The tangerine head pulled out a tin foil wrapped container and handed it to Mei in exchange for her own present. Mei sweatdropped, but said her thanks nonetheless. Glancing about the room, the others caught her look. "Are you looking for Rukia-chan?" Orihime asked, pulling out one of Mei's chocolate and eating it, smiling from the flavor. Mei nodded almost nervously, craning her neck to see past Chizuru.

"Chizuru-chan! Mei-chan!" Ogawa called as she entered the room, her small brown head soon followed by the tall black haired Kunieda. She raced over, pulling out chocolates for all four of the girls. Without say, she slipped the one for Mei into Mei's big garbage bag. Mei smiled at the girl, even though they were the same age, she had always been admired by Ogawa. Kunieda walked up behind the small girl (with those track star legs), her nose in a book as usual. But digging out chocolates for everyone, she handed them out. Mei dug out her chocolate for the two, and everyone exchanged thank-you's. Chizuru looked as if something struck her, and she hurried back to her desk, digging through her bag. Mei took all the gifts she had gathered and put them in her garbage bag. The sound of Rukia's nervous laughter entered her ears, and she perked up and looked around the room; sure enough, there stood Rukia by Ichigo's desk, looking nervously at the chocolates Keigo was giving her. Picking out Rukia's gift, she tossed the bag to land on Ichigo's desk, snapping his, Keigo's and Mizuiro's attention to her. Just as Rukia was about to turn around, Mei slipped behind her, gift in hand. She wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, kissing the back of her neck softly.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my love." She whispered to the girl, and before Rukia's arms could push herself away, Mei slipped one hand under Rukia's shirt and around her waist, holding her still. Mei brought her hand up and tucked a tuft of Rukia's hair behind her ear, examining the cartilage for any holes. Not finding any, she frowned, her gift would have to wait until later that day then. Mei looked to Ichigo, leaning her head against Rukia's back as she did so. "I'm going to take her to go get her ears pierced after school. You can handle yourself, right?" Mei slipped her gift for Rukia into her shirt pocket. He looked shocked, then it turned into slight understanding, then his expression turned unreadable.

"I can take care of myself, thank you. But," He got up and separated the two girls, one of them thanking him, Mei still waiting for the rest of his answer, "It's her choice on whether or not to go with you. And if she does, you can't hurt _or violate_ her while you two are alone. Got it?" Mei nodded, and then smiled happily. She ducked past Ichigo and to his desk, grabbing the chocolate and cards for the four around her. Handing them out, Rukia looked curiously at the small bag of ice cold chocolates in her hand. She wondered why they were freezing.

"Thanks." Mizuiro, Keigo, and Ichigo all said at once, making Mei sweatdrop. Did they have a vocabulary at all? Keigo and Mizuiro gave Mei their chocolates to her, which she spirited away to her bag. While at her desk, she overheard the group's conversation.

"What's this?" Rukia asked Ichigo, holding the freezing ball of chocolate.

"Mie's homemade chocolates. They have ice cream inside." Mizuiro said, popping one in his mouth. Keigo grinned as he ate one himself.

"You have to eat them fast, or they'll melt. But they're really good, she makes them every year." As if Rukia doubted what they said, she looked to Ichigo, who had already popped his second in his mouth.

"That's new, this time they have mint and chocolate inside." Seeing the girls look at the chocolate, he told her when the other two walked away, "Don't worry, they're harmless. You should go with her to get your ears pierced, too. I can handle an hour or two alone, just give me your phone and your glove thingy and I'll just punch myself every time I need out." Rukia knew what getting her ears pierced was, it was all the craze when the humans perfected it in Soul Society, she was just worried about what Mei would do to her if she did. Not to mention worried about what would happen to Ichigo and the town should he leave his side. But giving in, she popped one of the chocolate covered ice cream balls in her mouth. _It's actually pretty good._

After school, Rukia had hardly any time to give Ichigo the things he needed before Mei dragged her off by the wrist out of the school. Mei had got her uncle to carry the three garbage bags home for her.

"Where are we going?" Rukia asked as she ran behind Mei.

"To a tattoo and piercing shop! They did my ears, I'm sure they'll do yours for a discount!" She exclaimed happily as she stopped in front of a street. Pressing the button, they waited for the time to cross. After reaching the other side, they took a right.

"Oi onee-chans!" The sound of a rough teenage voice came as a group of guys surrounded the two girls on their bikes. The guy who had spoken earlier whistled, "Look what we have here, two cuties walking around downtown by yourselves? Need a ride somewhere?" The guy asked, even though none of the guys that had surrounded Rukia and Mei had two-seaters.

"Leave us alone and no one gets hurt." Mei stated, causing Rukia to glance at her. Sure, Rukia was in her gigai, but didn't mean that she couldn't kick a couple idiot's butts. But she was curious about Mei, how did this high-school girl plan to fight off five high school guys? _Maybe she's like Tatsuki_, Rukia figured. The group of guys laughed at Mei's comment, edging in some as they got off their bikes.

"Come on now, don't be like that sweet-heart, it's Valentine's day!" He made a move toward Mei, but didn't get to far as Mei's heel soon collided with the guy's jaw. The group of guys got angry after that.

"You're gonna pay for that princess!" One of them yelled, running toward Mei with his fist raised. _Even though the leader is knocked out, these idiots still want to fight? Maybe they think they have the advantage of numbers, and because of that they're gonna win. Idiots._ Mei thought sourly as she drove her fist into the guy's stomach, causing him to kneel over in pain. She snapped her knee up, sending the guy crashing back with a broken nose. Rukia didn't wait for the other three to come, she round-kicked one guy into the street while Mei took on another. That last one was hers as she caught the punch he threw at her, twisting his arm behind his back. She then punched the base of his skull, effectively knocking him out. She felt someone with rough hands push her down onto the concrete, twisting her ankle as she fell. His heavy body on top of her, she struggled against the guy. Though he would've been easily taken care of in her Shinigami form, her gigai restricted her muscles a lot.

"Rukia-chan!" Mei called, even though she wasn't in a better position. The last guy she had taken on was three times her size, she didn't get how he could ride on the bike without it crushing beneath his weight. Feeling the obligation to protect her friend, she struggled more against the guy in front of her. Her back was against the wall, one of his hands holding both of hers above his head. The other worked its way up her skirt, his grinning face looming closer. Without hesitance, she took the opening for what she got. She slammed her leg into his groin, sending him back enough to trip over the guy on top of Rukia. The guy fell over, grinding in pain from Mei's cheap blow. Mei ran over and kicked the guy off from on top of Rukia, it was the one she had given a bloody nose. Both of the guys got up and ran at her, but all too slow. She dropped to the ground, kicking their feet out from under them. They fell to the ground, finally not getting up. "You okay, Rukia-chan?" Rukia nodded, but as she brought her feet up to stand up from her sitting position, she winced from the pain in her right ankle. Catching this, Mei kneeled down to examine the wound, she sighed happily and smiled. "It's just twisted. Here," she offered a hand to the girl, who took it gratefully. As she stood, she kept her weight up her left foot.

"I didn't know you could fight like that." Rukia said as Mei shot her a smile. The girl turned around and crouched down.

"I could tell you the same thing. Here, get on my back. No little sprain is going to keep you from getting your ears pierced." Rukia did as she was told, getting onto the girls back. Mei smiled over her should at Rukia, and then proceeded to piggy-back the girl all the way to the shop. Mei was grinning by the time she set the girl in the shops chair. Feeling Rukia's body so close to hers near had her breaking her promise to Ichigo. After all, the feeling of Rukia's body riding up against hers had sent pleasant images into Mei's head, many she wanted to act on. And as vulnerable as Rukia was with her ankle being hurt, Mei could bring herself to ever do anything to the girl against her will. But that didn't mean she couldn't have her if she asked for it, and Mei reveled in the mental image of Rukia sitting on her bed, only wrapped in Mei's blankets. She'd reach out to Mei, and then she-

"Mei! I'm done!" The shop owner snapped his fingers in front of the day dreaming girl, who was happily grinning like an idiot.

"Oh! Sorry! Here's your money!" Mei paid the guy, and Rukia walked up to the two of them. Mei near frowned at the girls sudden recovery, she wanted to piggy back her home, too. But she smiled at the girl, and grabbing her hand, dragged her out of the shop. Rukia smiled back, it was a new experience, getting her ears pierced, but she liked it. Fingering the holes with her spare hand, she allowed Mei to drag her to an ice cream shop. "What do you like?" Mei asked as she took Rukia's order, standing in line.

"Um, I don't know. What do you like?" Mei grinned at her, and orders two Rocky Roads, in cups. Rukia glanced at the clock on the wall, worrying about how Ichigo was holding up. But a hand in front of her face woke her up.

"Hello? Earth to Rukia? Here's your ice cream love." Rukia thanked Mei as she was dragged to a two seat table in front of one of the big glass windows, her ice cream plopped down in front of her, with a spoon sticking out.

"So, how's your Valentine's Day been so far?" Mei asked Rukia, she knew everyone didn't get three garbage bags full of chocolate and cards on the holiday. Rukia smiled. She dug into her ice cream, a motion Rukia copied soon enough.

"Fun, and yours?" Mei grinned, rolling her eyes.

"Overbearing! But," Mei dug into her school uniform's shirt pocket, pulling out something that could fit in her closed fist, "about to get a lot better. Close your eyes and open your hand." Rukia did as she was told, and felt something small and light weight enter her hand. She opened her eyes to look at the pieces of jewelry in it. They were earrings, she recognized the style from the shop, and were extremely beautiful. They had five square gems in each of them, dangling one after another on silver steel. The top and bottom gems she recognized, they were diamond and a deep purple amethyst. The three middle stones on each earring seemed to be different shades of some sort of purple stone, as they went from pale purple to a mediocre shade of purple, in other words, they got a darker shade the farther down they went. Rukia was speechless, she opened her mouth, but finding no words, she shut it. Mei seemed to find humor in her expression, as she laughed at her. Mei got up and grabbed one of the earrings, sliding it through the hole in Rukia's ear. She then did the same with the other. Rukia brought a hand up and felt the gems as Mei turned the girls head to the shops window, their reflection evident. Rukia gasped slightly at the sight of her reflection, they brought out her eyes perfectly. Mei grinned at the girl's reaction, she took it as a good sign. She was happy that Rukia liked them; she wrapped her arms around the girl's neck, kissing the top of her head softly. As long as Rukia was happy, she would be happy. Those thoughts kept with Mei as she fell onto her bed that night for sleep.

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**So how do you like the first filler in the story? There'll be a couple more, no arcs, just short time-fillers. Also, REVIEW PLEASE!!!!! Anonymous people (people without accounts) can too! So not having an account is not an excuse! I stayed up until 2 in the morning for this thing! Please tell me you at least appreciate it! Also, I enjoy both constructive criticism and your usual "I like it, update soon" comments! So please review, the button isn't even an inch away!**


	4. Shopping! A dear gift!

**YO! How'd you guys like the filler? Answer in reviews, please. Also, my sister (beta-er) left a comment at the end of the chapter, you should read it. She basically cut and paste from what she said on the other story, but whatever. Also, another reason you need to review is this: you get to chose who Mei gets with. Do you want the fic to be Yuri (girlxgirl, she'd be with Rukia)? Or do you want Mei to hook up with a guy (I'm thinking either Renji or Hisagi)? So chose, Rukia, Renji, or Hisagi? All up to you guys.**

**Disclaimer: Mei is mine, I only wish half the hunks belonged to me, it would be amazing.**

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Two months passed with the same results from day to day as usual. Though Mei still retained her memories from the Gikongan incident, she pretended that she didn't. Just like she knew Orihime, Chad, and Ishida did. It was coming to the end of June, and with the seasons turning to summer (Mei's favorite time of the year), Mei decided it was time for a day off. Every Sunday since she could remember, Mei had trained with Urahara, Tessai, Ururu, or Jinta down in the basement. But now, she wanted a day off, and she only got a day off up to three days a year, as scheduled by Urahara. One if her birthday landed on a Sunday, one if Christmas landed on a Sunday, and one if the anniversary of her parent's death landed on a Sunday. Typically (as in all the time), if the last did, so did the first; them being a week apart. But nonetheless, she had checked her calendar, and none of the events would be happening on a Sunday this year, so she took it up with Urahara. The mall was a very fun place, after all.

"You sure you want to spend your money like that?" He asked her, looking at her curiously as the two sorted the new shipment together.

"Well I'm not going to spend all of my money, just the money from the last two Christmas'. I still have all that birthday money from over the years, and all that other money from the other Christmas', not to mention the spare change I get here and there by doing extra work around the shop, so I'm pretty good with money right now." He looked at her from under his hat, as if judging whether or not to let the one day a week that he actually made her burn fat go wasted on the mall with a couple of friends. Sighing, he figured Yoruichi would be angry if he never gave the girl a day off.

"Sure." He let out, disappointed that the families only bonding time was going down the drain. Her eyes brightened considerably from their 'I really don't care either way' look that she had moments ago. She ran and gave him a hug, something that he got very few times from her since puberty. Her work done, she immediately flew to her room and started dialing numbers. Both Orihime and Tatsuki agreed to come with her the coming Sunday, though Chizuru, Ogawa, and Kunieda were busy that day with family matters. She briefly wondered if Rukia wanted to come. She could tell the girl was always distant, and hesitant to get attached, but Mei understood. After all, from what Mei knew of Shinigami law, it was highly forbidden to give your powers to a human, so she assumed that when the enforcers from Soul Society came, Rukia didn't want to be burdened by unnecessary bonds. But from what Mei saw of the girl outside of school, she seriously needed a bigger closet; and Mei was willing to buy. Searching her phone, she realized that she didn't have Rukia's number. It was odd, since she always saw the girl with a phone. Deciding to call the next best thing, she dialed a very familiar number.

-----With Ichigo/Rukia

Ichigo sat at the desk in his room, studying like the good student he had to be. Rukia sat on his bed, reading the latest issue of some horror romance manga that she had picked up somewhere. Without warning, his phone beside him started beeping. Rukia paused and looked at the phone.

"Why does that sound like its warning you not to pick up the phone? I thought ringtones were meant to be cool." Ichigo rolled his eyes, he knew who he gave that ringtone to.

"Because it is meant to warn me." He picked up the phone and flipped it open, nonetheless. _Who could he possibly warn himself not to answer the phone for?_ Rukia pondered, who did he hate that much?

"What do you want Mei?" He asked gruffly into the phone. Rukia sweatdropped, it was only Mei. She had gotten used to Mei's constant flirtations, and was actually on decent terms with the girl, now that she could respond whenever she was being hit on.

"And you think she's here why?" Ichigo's voice became annoyed.

"We are not." Rukia decided to listen to the half of the conversation she could here.

"It's for you." Ichigo said, handing the phone to her. Rukia blinked in confusion, and then grabbed the phone. Putting it up to the ear, she spoke into it.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Rukia-chan! Just who I was looking for!" Mei's voice sounded happily as she spoke back, continuing her reason. "Me, Tatsuki-chan, and Hime-chan are going to the mall Sunday, you want to come?"

Rukia was taken aback, she glanced at the calendar, but she was still unsure. Ichigo caught this and mouthed to her, "What's up?"

Mouthing back, "She wants to go to the mall Sunday." His eyebrows shot up, and he nodded.

"Go." He said, no longer mouthing. She tilted her head.

"You sure you can handle them?" She asked, being sure not to name the creatures she was talking about. He nodded.

"Um, are you still there?" Rukia asked into the phone.

"Yep!" Came her cheery response.

"The malls a big shopping place right? I would love to go, but I'm not sure because I really don't have any money." Ichigo rolled his eyes and tapped his wallet that lay on his desk beside his house keys. She frowned, and shook her head no. She wouldn't accept money.

"Oh, I can pay for you, you don't have to worry about money dear, I'll cover it. Why don't you sap money for your lunch off of Ichigo?"

"Oh, I really couldn't…" At this response, Ichigo jerked the phone away from Rukia.

-----Mei

Mei tilted her head, why did she hear screaming on the other end?

"She'll go." Came the sound of Ichigo's voice on the phone.

"Sweet! I'll come by her house on Sunday, probably around noon. Do you know where she lives?"

"Just come by mine to pick her up." The response shocked her slightly, but then again, she didn't expect the Shinigami outcast to be able to afford her own place.

"Does she have a bike?" Mei didn't want to smooch a ride off either of her uncles, and she knew both Orihime and Tatsuki had bikes.

"She'll use mine. Goes for money, too." Mei grinned.

"Aww, you're so sweet to your girlfriend Ichigo! Man, I wish there were more guys like you!" She was playing with him, but she could practically feel his blush over the line.

"SHUT UP! She's Not My Girlfriend!" She heard a click that signaled the call had been canceled. Mei shrugged, all's well that ends well. Mei was left to count down the days at school for the remainder of the week. Every time she saw Rukia, she either hit on the girl or explained to her about the different types of stores there were in the mall. But now, riding over to Ichigo's on her bike, the feel of wind against her face, flowing through her hair, she felt that this time, springtime, could hardly be any better.

"Man," Tatsuki said, "I almost forgot how short of a ride it was to Ichigo's, I haven't been here in so long." Orihime laughed as Mei smiled. They rode with Mei in the front, and Tatsuki guarding Orihime from the road's traffic behind her. Mei was happy; she was wearing one of her favorite outfits. Her jean Bermudas got her compliments on her butt a lot, and her tight black skull tee showed off her stomach below her bellybutton well. To match it all, she wore her dark brown "No Boundaries" hat. She wore her hair in a side ponytail over her shoulder, with a neon green extension through it that matched her belt. As she glanced back at Orihime and Tatsuki, who were laughing and joking amongst themselves, she smiled; they wore ultra cute outfits, too. As she stopped at the back of the Kurosaki residence, she realized that both Rukia and Ichigo were waiting outside for them. Rukia had Ichigo's bike under her, and Ichigo held one of the handle bars to steady it. Mei near laughed at the sight, Ichigo's bike dwarfed the small girl. Instead, she cracked a grin.

"Ne, you want to use my bike Rukia-chan? That looks a bit big for you, and I've pretty much grown out of this one." Rukia looked at Mei's bike, unsure.

"Um, would you mind?" The girl asked as Mei parked hers and got off of it, Rukia copying the motion.

"If I offered, do you think I'd mind?" She got up and got on Ichigo's bike, seeing the warning glare he sent at her.

"If you scratch it, you're repairing it." At his hesitance, Mei laughed. She brushed him off as Rukia got on her own.

"Don't be such a worry wart. We'll take good care of Rukia-chan!" His eye twitched as Tatsuki and Orihime shot off, only Mei and Tatsuki catching the glance Orihime threw at Ichigo. Rukia stood still as she waited for Mei to ride up to her for the lead.

"That's not what I meant!" Ichigo yelled at their backs as they rode off.

"Yeah, yeah! Love you too!" Mei yelled at him as the turned the corner, quite aware that Ichigo was slightly blushing. It seemed at that moment, Karin walked out of the house.

"Was that Mei?" She asked her older brother. At Ichigo's irritated look, she realized it was a yes. "Weird, she hasn't been around lately." Ichigo walked past her, heading up to his room.

"Yeah, isn't it great?" As he got to his room, he flew down on his bed. He was extremely happy that he could finally catch up on his sleep now that she was gone.

----- Mei

As the group of teens rode, they chattered about where they were going to shop.

"Let's go to Hot Topic!" Mei suggested, happy she finally got a chance to spend her gift card from last Christmas.

"Mm! Then we'll hit Bath & Body Works!" While both Tatsuki and Mei nodded at that one, and Tatsuki suggested Sears, Mei noticed Rukia didn't have a clue what they were talking about.

"Don't worry about it," Mei said to the girl, lowly so that Tatsuki and Orihime didn't notice, "We'll hit all the places so that you won't ever get lost about what is where, and what styles are in what shop!" Rukia smiled at Mei, and nodded happily. Mei looked forward and rejoined the conversation, sad that Rukia had to put up such a fake front, but was happy nonetheless because she knew the girl would have a great time. "And they soon hit the mall, ready to shop until they drop!" Mei narrated as they parked and chained their bikes. They all laughed happily and shop they did. But as Tatsuki restrained Mei from jumping Rukia and Orihime every time they showed off a cute outfit they picked out, she found there was no one able to restrain Mei while Tatsuki showed off the cute outfits she got.

"Ah! Tatsuki-chan! Your beauty, no matter how many times I see it, still amazes me!" Mei exclaimed as she tackled the girl for the umpteenth time that hour. Tatsuki had tried on a blue and black kimono, for they were now shopping for things to wear to the summer festival. And as Mei jumped the girl in her gold with light pink trimming kimono, she freely inserted a hand inside the folds of cloth that surrounded Tatsuki's body. Tatsuki twitched as a vain popped on her head, one that she soon acted upon, hitting Mei very harshly on the head.

"I'm ready!" Orihime called as she opened the door to her dressing room. She wore a red and orange kimono, which wrapped her curves in stunning ways. As if sensing Mei was about to do something (which she was), Tatsuki grabbed the back of the girls kimono, keeping a firm hold as Mei tried to get loose.

"What a gorgeous sight there is before me! Orihime! My princess! Your beauty astounds me!" The girl sweatdropped at Mei's antics.

"Does it really look that good?" Orihime asked Tatsuki, and for once, Tatsuki agreed with Mei. Though a simple nod sufficed it.

"Um, are they supposed to be this tight?" Rukia called from her stall.

"Let's see it!" Mei called, and the girl hesitantly opened the door. Mei, much like Tatsuki and Orihime, was shocked into stupor. She had no idea that Rukia could look that good in a kimono. The girl's generous curves were evident in her light lavender kimono. It had purple to violet shades of flowers starting from the edges and moving up just the right amount into the folds of the fabric. They girl's eyes seemed to shine in it, the colors bringing out all the different hues in her iris'. She reached up and pulled her hair out of the neckline of the cloth, and Mei was beside her in an instant. "You know, they say actions speak louder than words, so can I show you how I'm feelin' right now?" She wrapped an arm around the girl's body; the other traced her jaw line to tilt her head upwards (Mei had grown slightly taller than Rukia) to her. Mei's face moved in, about to steal a kiss. The closer she got, the redder Rukia's face was and the more twists seemed to go through her stomach. Rukia was mentally scolding herself, she hadn't frozen up like this for awhile, and Mei was mentally rejoicing that they were in a dressing room. Just when Mei was about to touch their lips together, Tatsuki hit her on the head.

"Don't do perverted things in Public!" She had to have at least three twitching veins; Mei counted as she rubbed her noggin. Sulking, she went back to her dressing room.

"Oh, Rukia-chan! Get it, or I'll buy it for you!" Mei warned as she shut her door. "In fact, I think we should all get them!"

"Yeah!" Orihime agreed, already in her stall.

"Aw man! Someone took my stall!" Tatsuki called, picking up her clothes from where somebody had thrown them. Mei grinned.

"You can come in mine!" She offered, poking her head out the stall.

"I think I'll pass." Tatsuki said, not wanting to know what Mei would do to her in there.

"Dang." Mei said playfully as she shut her door and changed back. She got done soon, and went to check out the kimono. "Hey, I'll wait at the register, okay?" She yelled to them as she walked out, hearing a chorus of 'okay's following. As soon as they got done, Rukia seemed to have recovered from the traumatizing experience, they went and ate, and spent the rest of the day shopping or hanging out at the food court. Mei sighed happily as she rode back to the shop she called her home. She had already dropped off the other girls, and even though riding alone at night was dangerous, she felt comforted by the full moon that hung above her. Its warm glow lit the sky, for no stars could be seen, but that was enough to find her way home. Parking her bike around back, she entered from the back door.

"I'm home!" She called happily, carrying her large assortment of bags. Walking through the house, she searched for where everyone could be. Shrugging, she went down to her bedroom. Sliding the door open, she froze when she saw someone was sitting on her bed, holding her only picture of her mother and father. She visibly relaxed though, when she recognized who it was. Dumping her bags off in the corner of her room, she went and sat by him. "What's up, Uncle Kisuke?" He sighed and handed her the picture frame, she looked down at it as she took it. Her mom was sitting in the hospital bed, covers reaching her waist, with her as a baby in her arms. Her dad stood over the side of the bed, holding on to her mother's hand in both pride and joy. A nurse had taken the picture, her uncle once told her.

"When she's taken back, will you go with him after her?" Her uncle asked in all seriousness. She knew who he was talking about, and she had decided her answer long before.

"To the ends of the world." Her uncle sighed, and nodded. They both knew the time was close. "One more week." Mei spoke, she didn't think that Rukia would stay here the entire week, but there was still one week until school was out. "Or she'll leave around Friday night, Saturday would hold to many sappy goodbyes for her to stand."

And so the week passed, on Friday, Mei could see it in Rukia's eyes. The regret of making all of these bonds she had to break, so during Home Ec., she spoke to her friend.

"Ne, Rukia?" The girls violet eyes met hers with a smile. "Don't think that when next school year comes, I'll let you fly by and avoid me." Rukia looked confused for a moment, but she just laughed lightly. Hazel eyes turned to the cake she baked yesterday in class; both she and Rukia had separate ones. They were icing them today. She grabbed the blue dye and put a few drops in the icing, mixing it until it turned baby blue, then adding a drop of red, the icing turned lavender. She quickly but nicely iced the two layer cake. Then picking up pure, dark blue icing, she added some roses, making sure to block the cake from Rukia's gaze. Making a darker shade of purple, she wrote onto the cake: "H.A.G.S." Then in below it in red she wrote: "I'll always be there for you." Realizing she still had fifteen minutes of class left, she borrowed some pale green from her neighbor and added leaves to the roses. Looking it over, she decided it still wasn't enough. She added some vine designs at the bottom around the cake, after all, making it look perfect had to be done. Done, she sighed as she wiped off all the icing and stuff off her hands. Glancing over at Rukia, she saw the girl was engrossed in her work. Laughing lightly, she wrapped her hands around the girl's eyes, blocking her vision.

"Yes?" Rukia asked, trying to be polite despite her annoyance at the others antics.

"Take three steps to your right." Rukia did as Mei instructed. "Turn your head slightly down." Wanting to get this over with as soon as possible, Rukia did what she was told. Mei removed her hands, and seeing the shock enter those violet eyes she loved so much was really worth all her hard effort on the cake.

"I-I don't know what to say…" Rukia stood there in silence and shock, not even responding when Mei wrapped her arms around her waist and drew herself close to her.

"You could start with thanks." Mei said over her shoulder, she had skyrocketed in the past two months, and could now rest her chin on the girls shoulder without standing on her tiptoes.

"Thank you…" Rukia spoke, voice wavering in the slightest. "Thank you so much…" Mei relaxed happily while holding the former Shinigami. Rukia, for once, relaxed as she was held, completely used to the cuddling ways of the girl behind her. Mei smiled, the next month would be hard work, but if she could hold Rukia like this one more time, it would all be worth it.

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Alright, look here assholes. This is the Beta of this story, the author's older sister. I'm going to tell y'all the same thing I told the readers of her YYH fanfic. I'd just like to say, PLEASE REVIEW! HONESTLY, IT'S HARD ENOUGH TAKING TIME OUT OF MY LIFE FOR MY LITTLE SISTER, THE LEAST THAT COULD BE ASKED OF YOU GUYS IS TO SHOW SOME APPRECIATION! DO YOU KNOW THE HARD WORK SHE PUTS INTO THIS STORY?! THE MAIN CHARACTER ISN'T EVEN A MARY-SUE! JEEZ! On a side note, I'd like to thank the SINGLE PERSON who has reviewed this story. It means a lot to my sister, and I really appreciate it. As for the rest of you, REVIEWING DOESN'T TAKE TWO MINUTES! SHE EVEN ENABLED ANON REVIEWS, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T HAVE ACCOUNTS! SO PLEASE, IF SHE MADE YOUR DAY A LITTLE BIT MORE ENJOYABLE, YOU CAN MAKE HERS A LOT MORE ENJOYABLE BY PRESSING A BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE AND SIMPLY STATING THAT YOU LIKE THE STORY! THANKYOU, AND HAVE AN ENJOYABLE DAY! (P.S. I 3 copy and paste.)

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	5. Rukia departs! Fun photo!

**Well, this story seems to be writing itself. I can't leave the computer, but finally I'm at a stopping point. Although this is ch4, I'm working on ch8 right now. Yeah, I'm ahead, but sis likes taking her sweet time on things, so I'm stuck with an update once every few days. And trust me, in order to make it onto the first five pages consecutively, you need to update once per three days, at least. Doesn't it suck? Ah well, no problem as long as you guys get to read, right? Oh, and the reason that I'm at a stopping point is because Mei's in the middle of her first fight in SS, and I need to know, do the readers want Yuri? Or smoking tight abs and nice butts (boys)? So choose please, even those of you who don't have accounts should put forth your opinion. I'm using it for once; do take care of the advantage.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach… seriously? It's such a shame, because I love to share, so the world is lacking majorly.**

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Mei sat on the roof of the Urahara Shoten, holding herself back from running to the side of the man fighting for her friend's life. She had always had a crush on Ichigo, everyone knew it, but she never asked him out. He never asked her out. It was like an unspoken rule; Mei would flirt, but never ask anything about dating to him. After all, one of Mei's friends liked Ichigo too, and Mei was pretty sure Rukia did as well. When it came between her friends and the guy she liked, she always put sisters before misters. But now, feeling the near traumatized aura of Rukia, and the slowly dying one of Ichigo, she felt it getting harder and harder to resist. She hugged herself, not wanting to cause any more trouble than there already was. It would only be harder for Rukia to leave if she saw Mei there, she knew that. But as she felt the portal to Soul Society open, she shunpoed to Ichigo's side. There were two men walking behind Rukia into the gate, but as it started raining, she paid them no heed. She looked down at the carrot top, sitting down on her knees beside his body. Even though Mei had always thought Ichigo looked better with his hair wet, seeing the blood pool around him near made her want to cry. She sniffed, positive no one could hear her past the rain, and a couple of tears fell from her eyes. She knew that the man before her would be okay, she felt the slowly approaching aura of her uncle, but that didn't mean she didn't wish Rukia wasn't going to her death. Her flannel pajama pants were getting soaked, and her gray extra large shirt was starting to cling to her body. Her hair, still in a braid, started to curl. Without warning, she felt eyes on her. She looked up, hazel eyes wide, into the gate. There a man stood, looking over his shoulder at her with narrowed eyes. He had black hair down to his shoulders, and black eyes to match. Over his hakama he wore a white haori, with the number six on the back. She knew the basics about the captains, and he being so popular, she knew his name.

"Kuchiki Byakuya." Mei said to herself, glaring in hatred at the brother that was so cold to take his sister to her execution. He raised an eyebrow, but nonetheless turned his head back around and continued walking, following after his sister and subordinate. She looked back down to Ichigo, and knowing the basics of healing, started to stop his bleeding wounds. The sound of clacking entered her ears, but she, knowing who it was, didn't turn around to face it. She felt the rain over her stop, and only then did she look up into the curious gaze of her uncle.

"Tessai will carry him back, the Quincy will be fine. Go home and get changed." It wasn't a request, Mei noticed as she bobbed her head yes; that was an order.

-----Morning

Mie stood with a camera in hand waiting for Ichigo to get up. Grinning, she clicked the zoom button, figuring he would wake any moment.

"Uncle Tessai, you're a riot." He looked up at her from his position on top of Ichigo.

"Why am I a riot?" His glasses shined in the creepiest way possible. Mei smiled at him.

"You just are." She said as Ichigo started to wake.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" *Click!*

The picture was perfect, the shocked expression of Ichigo waking up under Tessai, how glorious.

"TOO CLOSE!!!! WAY TO CLOSE!!!" Mei burst into laughter as Tessai was pushed off by Ichigo. As if on cue, Urahara came in through the door.

"Ah! He's up!" Mei smiled at her uncle and stood.

"Ne, where's Yoruichi-san?" Mei asked, she missed her godmother, and every time she went somewhere, it seemed that Yoruichi went somewhere else. She didn't like being avoided, but she was sure that her godmother just had other things to do. Her uncle looked to her.

"Out on the porch, napping." Mei nodded, she'd go and wake her up soon. She walked past Ichigo and her uncle and out the door, figuring her presence would make Ichigo only more confused.

"Eh? Geta Boushi? Where am I? Why's Mei here?" Ichigo asked, as if just recognizing he wasn't at his house.

"Ah, but Ichigo!" Mei turned around to walk backwards out of the room. "I'm not here!" With a playfully mysterious voice and a wave of her hand, she shut the door behind her and left for her room. It was on the same floor, all she had to do was walk down the hall, make a right, and then her room would be straight at the end. She sighed playfully as she reached her room, taking the clean pile of clothes that she had lain on her bed and sorted through them. It was around five in the morning, so she still had plenty of time to shower and get ready for the last day of school. She glanced at her calendar, making a mental note that it was July 22, exactly one month from her birthday. Grabbing her blue skirt and white button up shirt, she hopped into the shower. Once done with her daily routine, she went upstairs to grab breakfast, slightly shocked to see Ichigo still there. But nonetheless, she glanced at her watch, and noticing she still had plenty of time to eat, she sat down and filled her plate.

"So, you live here?" Ichigo asked her over the table, she nodded since there was food in her mouth. "And you know about Shinigami and Hollows and stuff?" Mei nodded again, this time with an answer.

"Ever since I was a tyke. I also noticed when you got Rukia's Shinigami powers, and what Rukia was." His eyes widened, then fell as he went back to eating. "Don't worry about sensing others reiryoku for awhile, at least, not until the final days of your training." He nodded, still disappointed with himself at the lack of attention he paid to his surroundings. "Oh!" Mei spoke as if something struck her very hard on the head, "I'll be going with you to get Rukia-chan!" Ichigo stared at her, shocked that she would actually say such a thing.

"No." He refused her help. He didn't want her getting hurt, and he didn't even know if she was strong or not. Mei glanced around the table and the room, sensing for any sign of Urahara entering, or Tessai popping in. Nodding to herself that the place was at least temporarily empty, she stood. Ichigo raised an eyebrow, what was she planning? He blinked, but as he opened his eyes, there was no human in front of him, but the sense of cold steel against his throat was evident.

"You really don't want me to get angry, Strawberry-kun." Her voice came from right next to his right ear, and he could feel her legs brush up against his back. He sat at the table, chopsticks unwavering in his hands, having not moved from their position of going back down to his plate. The steel was removed from his neck, and Mei's presence from behind him disappeared, and she soon appeared right across from him. Ichigo gazed at what she held in her hand. Your average katana, of decent length and decent measure, but it had a pale green and blue hilt, and as Mei sheathed it, he couldn't help but notice it was a gentle motion, as if she had done it hundreds, if not thousands of times before. What truly made his eyes pop out of his head though, was that as soon as the sword was fully in the scabbard, electricity seemed to spark out of nowhere, and the sword disappeared.

"Your average fifth seat could've killed you right then, though I must say I'm probably at lieutenant level." She explained as she sat and finished her meal. Once done, she headed out on the porch, only to realize that nobody was there. Ichigo finished soon after, and in either silence or depression (Mei was thinking, so she wasn't talking) they walked together to school.

-----Rukia

Rukia sat in her cell, making fun of a childhood friend. The childhood friend that took her from the human world, and the friend that had been promoted to lieutenant recently.

"So, what were the humans like there?" He asked, still prodding about her time in the human world. She looked over her shoulder at the guy, his red hair pulled back in a ponytail and his face covered with tattoos that looked oddly tribal like. His brown eyes glistened with curiosity. Her thoughts drifted to all the humans she met, Orihime, Chad, Keigo, Mei… she stopped there, not liking where it was going nor the memories it brought back.

"Odd." She answered finally, trying to find a word that fit them all. The guy sweatdropped, that was descriptive. She smiled at his expression, they always made her want to laugh.

"Anybody worth mentioning?" He prodded, still curious about humans. He hadn't met any, after all. Rukia laughed softly at that, they all were.

"Well, there is Mei…" She died off, smiling at the memory of the girl's, however disturbing, sweet antics. He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What's she like?" Though he figured talking about her time in the human world wasn't actually comforting, it was the only subject he could breach with actual curiosity. Rukia laughed again, then shrank into a soft smile at the memory of what the girl had made for her in their last moments together.

"Like most other humans, except more perverted. She likes to tackle people from behind, and flirt with them in the oddest of ways. Or she'll go for the direct approach, and just feel you up from the front." She laughed at the face he made; he couldn't imagine a girl that flirty. He was friends with Matsumoto, lieutenant of the tenth division, but he still could hardly imagine someone as bad as Rukia was saying, or even another person as bad as Matsumoto. He sweatdropped at the image of a teenage human girl flirting with everybody she saw on the streets. Rukia smiled as their conversation went to another topic. Then the subject of his tattoos over his eyebrows popped up again, and she had a good laugh over that.

----- Mei's mind, later that day

It was flat, that was the first thing she had noticed the first time she entered. Reeds were everywhere, eventually thinning out onto the endless land of her mind. They surrounded a river, the reeds did, and as Mei sat at the bank of the river, watching the water lotus' float along, she stared at her reflection. It was always like this, whenever she came into her mind. She wore white linens, wrapped around her body and down to her knees. A gold belt hung from her hips, and her hair was cut into a short bob. All in all, it reminded her of Egypt, or at least, all the pictures she had seen of it and its artifacts. The sky was pink and orange, colors of a sunset, but it was odd, she never saw the sun. Reaching her hand into the cool river, she caught a lotus that floated into her palm. She brought it up in her right hand, then turning her wrist, dropped it face down into the river. A shadow flew over the land and a made a reflection in the water. It was a white bird, a kite. It circled the area, and finding the girl by the river, swooped down to sit on the girls outstretched hand. It was a beautiful bird of prey, a pure, snowy white color despite the sandy surroundings that etched past the plains that lie beyond the reeds. It looked to Mei with its dark eyes, curiosity and worry embedded into them. Mei always felt comforted by the creature, it had never let her down.

"What do you need, child?" The voice couldn't be described as anything other than feminine and caring, though the birds mouth never moved. Mei placed the fingers of her left hand into the water, allowing the cool liquid to slip through them like air.

"How can we reach bankai?" Mei found no use in being indirect with the being. The bird cocked its head.

"Do you fear for your life?" Though Mei knew that she only needed to fear the captains of Soul Society, it was still thirteen people she didn't want to meet.

"Yes." There was no hesitance in her answer, and the being on her hand knew she also feared for those who were going along, those with no experience.

"Once you master shikai, I shall work with you on bankai." The being's answer was simple, but Mei was irritated with the answer.

"I dislike hand-to-hand combat." Though that was her true shikai's method of fighting, she found she much preferred it when she used a variant of her zanpakuto's name. It didn't like it very much though, so instead of going into full shikai, it transformed into the exact opposite style weapon, long range.

"The more you don't except it, the harder it will be for you to master me." Though they had gone over it a thousand times, Mei still preferred the variant.

"I know." She answered, because in truth, she did.

"Then leave, and come back when you've mastered my most basic form." The world around Mei twisted, as if being sucked into a vortex. Colors blended, making her feel both dizzy and sick at the same time. A strong force pushed her back, coming out of seemingly nowhere. Mei fell onto her bed's soft covers. She sighed, that meant she'd have to actually train for the trip. She sat up, throwing her legs over her bed's edge, when a both strong and terrifying force came out of nowhere. The spiritual pressure resembled that of Ichigo, but also that of a hollow. Without thinking, she raced down to the basement, her conversation with her zanpakuto had taken longer than expected. By the time she got all the way down the ladder, the fight was over. She did catch on her way down, however, a bright blue flash of energy that nearly swallowed her uncle whole. She had no clue who or where it came from, but since nobody in the household had that type of power, she could only assume it to belong to Ichigo. As she walked over to Tessai, Ururu and Jinta, she caught sight of a giant gash across the basement floor. Her eyes widened,_ no way!_ Her eyes trailed to the start of the gash, eyeing the strawberry that leaned up against his sword his support. From what she could tell, he was sleeping peacefully. _Good,_ she thought happily, _he'd been training for three days straight, he deserves a break ._Her eyes drifted to her uncle, who stood over the teen with unreadable eyes. _I can't believe I got worried over him! Geez!_ Mentally scolding herself, she turned around and walked back to the giant ladder.

"Oh, Mei! Could you put a pot of water on the stove for me, with the heat on high?" Tessai called, catching a glimpse of her back.

"Sure!" She yelled, scolding herself again for getting caught and now having to do chores. Climbing up the steel ladder, she went up the stairs and into the kitchen. Putting the water on the stove like he had asked, she decided for some fresh air. Walking out on the front porch, she felt for Yoruichi's energy. She was halfway across town, but missing the only godmother she had, Mei decided to take her bike. Grabbing it, she raced across town, ignoring all the weird glances she got from the people on the streets. Finally stopping in front of some sort of warehouse, she parked her bike around back (she didn't know if it was legal to be here) and headed in. At first, she was lost; then hearing the screams of "AHHH!" and "OWAHH!"'s, she quickly followed it to its source. There, looking like idiots, stood both Chad and Orihime. Feeling stealthy but lethargic, she went behind Orihime and grabbed her sides, pulling the princess to her. "It's been so long Hime-chan!" She wrapped her arms around the girl and snuggled into her back, "I've missed you!"

"Gah! Mei-chan! Wha-What are you do here?" Of course the girl didn't know anything about Mei's abilities, so Mei decided just to fill her in.

"Don't worry! I'm going to save Rukia-chan too! I'll protect you!" She snuggled onto the girl, comforted by her warmth.

"Okay! Wait… how do you remember Rukia-chan?" The girl placed a finger on her lips in question, and Chad stopped whatever he was doing (Mei could've sworn he was punching air). Mei shrugged, letting the girl go, she in turn, turned around to face Mei.

"Um, how to make it simple?" She looked around for a person to get her out of this. Low and behold, there sat Yoruichi in cat form on the ground behind the two humans. "Ah! Just who I was looking for! Yoruichi-san!" As Mei walked over, she high fived Chad, acknowledging his presence. Mei picked up the black cat, cuddling it. "You haven't changed a bit!" Yoruichi looked at her from her position in the girls arms.

"I've been busy, so I haven't got you alone yet, but we need to talk." The male voice came from her throat. Mei blinked, talk about what? But nodding, she walked out of the room. When she was at the doorway, she called to the two still in the room over her shoulder.

"You two might want to keep practicing!" Feeling their energies get back to work, she walked down the hall and took a left into an empty room. The only thing shedding light into it was a giant window at the opposing wall. Letting Yoruichi go softly onto the ground, Mei went and sat in the windowsill. "What, no happy 'I haven't seen you in forever'? What'cha need?" The cat gave her a scolding look.

"I don't want you to go to Soul Society." The sentence shocked Mei. She felt the anger in her rising, but knowing there must be a reason, she kept the boiling feeling inside her to a minimum. Her voice was cold.

"Why?" The being hesitated her answer, as if not sure what to say. _Very unlike her,_ Mei noticed.

"It's too dangerous." Mei scoffed to keep her cool.

"I'm close to reaching bankai, I can feel it. Yet it would be safer for two humans, who have no experience whatsoever, than me? Rukia's my friend, I'm going." Yoruichi 'tsk'ed, and Mei could feel that anger was entering her side of the debate as well.

"Yes, it's dangerous for them, and yes, they're the most likely to die. But nonetheless, it's much more dangerous for you." Mei's eyes narrowed, a sign she was reaching her limit. Her friend was in trouble, she wasn't going to just sit back and watch her death.

"I'm going." Her voice was solid, leaving no room for any normal person to argue. Yoruichi, however, was far from normal.

"Your parents entrusted me with your life, your safety is my top concern. You're not going." Mei glared, a sign Yoruichi was soon to copy.

"Rukia's going to _die_ if we don't save her! I'm going to my friend! She needs me!" Her opponent's eyes widened; Mei looked so desperate. Yoruichi's aura soon flared with anger.

"How selfish, your parents give their lives for you yet you still return their efforts with nothing but rudeness and irresponsibility." Mei's eyes widened, she hadn't heard that story before. Yoruichi visibly winced, she'd taken it too far and now the girl would be curious.

"What do you mean, gave their lives for me?"

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	6. A shrine, a shy strawberry! Departure!

"What do you mean, gave their lives for me?" The girls voice sounded scared, frightened, and most of all curious. All her life she'd been told that her parents were in Egypt when she died, and that they were killed in their sleep by a jealous college. Why the different story now? Her parents were human, right? Yoruichi sighed, realizing she crossed a line she shouldn't have.

"It's nothing; I didn't mean to say that. Your parents shouldn't be brought into this discussion." Mei's eyes narrowed, there was something that Yoruichi wasn't telling her about her parents, when she had every right to know.

"They're my parents, you should tell me. Why did they give their lives for me?" Yoruichi stiffened; she wasn't going to get out of this easily. She had to calculate her moves carefully; Mei was like a cobra when angry or worried, cold and calculating.

"Your mother told me not to tell you. Even though I think it's in your best interests if you did know, I shall honor my words with your mother. Including the promise to keep you safe. You're likely to die in Soul Society, just like the others, and that's something your parents would never want. I will not betray their memory." It was Mei's turn to stiffen, and she read Yoruichi carefully. The woman wouldn't budge on the matter, Mei was sure of it. But neither was she.

"You won't keep me from going to my friend's aid. I'll go to whatever lengths to keep her safe." The last sentence shocked Yoruichi. Mei's father, Khai, had spoken those exact same words to Yoruichi on two occasions. The first when Khai had introduced Misa to her, the second the day Mei was born. How attached to Rukia was Mei? Would she really go to any length? Even death? Yoruichi examined Mei from her spot. Mei's arms were crossed as she leaned against the window, her legs crossed as she held herself up. A very predator like pose, she noted, one taken when their beliefs or belongings were threatened. So Mei really would go to Rukia's aid? Yoruichi found herself giving in, a habit she noted, when it came to the family Mei was from.

"You're to keep to my side constantly, you got it? Should anyone make mention of your family or relatives, do not reveal your identity to them. Never tell your family name; never mention either of your parents. If it comes down to it, if we get separated, keep with one of the others. If they are injured or otherwise, flee the battle, leave them to the mercy of your opponent. Do not break my rules, or you shall find yourself dead quicker than ever. There are enemies that lurk even in the most unlikely of places, do not fall for their tricks. Only under these circumstances will I permit you to enter Soul Society, will you agree?" Mei nodded, and decided to drop the subject of her parents. She would get answers soon enough, and if her own godmother couldn't tell because of her promise to her parents, then she'd get the information elsewhere. Allies were harder to make than enemies, but she could get just as much information from either as she could get from the other. Watching Yoruichi exit the room, she stood, still angry from the conversation. She walked back to her bike and rode off, deciding not to head home but to head to the family shrine, instead.

As she rode, she noticed what she was wearing. Her usual sleep cloths, an over large shirt and flannel plaid pants. She wore an old pair of scruffy tennis shoes, and her hair was still in a braid. Yet despite her less than perfect appearance, she felt as welcome as always heading into the forest on the edges of Karakura town. The only thing marking a path into the forest was a large tree that looked as if there was a door carved into it. She recognized it from her many trips here in the past, every year she visited at least once to keep it clean. She moved onto the trail, riding her bike carefully throughout the woods, until two miles or so inward, she came to an exceptionally small clearing. Two statues stood at either end, both standing on the edges of a large flight of stairs. The trees were tall, and the stairs were built into the hill that lead up to the mountain where the shrine lay. The statue to her left was a vulture, though she could never figure out what breed, she knew exactly what the second statue was. A large cobra, the same size as the bird, with its head reared and hood out. Its eyes, worn and roughed by the years of wear, still held the coldness that it held the first day it did its duty at the shrine's steps. Walking up to the gray stone steps, she examined all the vines that had crept along the stairs, and areas where the stones had split over the years to allow grass and flowers alike to rejoice in the sun. All in all, it looked as though it had been here for centuries, which according to Yoruichi, it had.

Apparently, she came from a long line of archeologists in Egypt.

Apparently, that was no longer true.

Images of the conversation flashed through her mind once more, angering her yet again despite the serenity of the shrine. Parking her bike, she walked forward, up the slowly winding steps. Yet the steps never broke the tree line, they continued to shadow the stone with their green leaves. The farther up she went, the less her anger nagged at her. As she reached the top of the steps, she felt nothing but calmness and serenity. She looked around, the ground before her was inlaid with stone, once again, cracks seemed to find their way, allowing the grass through. The bricks led to a temple, wooden and old. She walked to the small building, fingering the ever-present necklace around her neck. As she reached the steps, she slid open the old Japanese-style door. The ground creaked under her weight, and she left the door open to allow the natural sunlight into the room. Pausing in the center of the room, she got to her knees. In front of her was a simple stone grave marker. It was old, made in an odd style that no matter how hard she researched, it never came up anywhere. She bowed before it, bringing her head to her knees. It marked not only the memory of her parents, but also the ancestors of hers on her father's side. Even though she was told all of this at a young age, she never questioned about her family. She still didn't today, the secrets that her parents held from her were for her own protection, she knew it. She also knew now that her parents weren't archaeologists, and that they were connected to Soul Society somehow. Or at least, her father was, why else could she not say her family name-her father's name- while she was there? Though it made no sense, Mei still felt no need to question. Yet she pondered for a minute her families past. Raising her head, she stared at the marker, as if it would give her answers. In a way, it did. She remembered her mother's family, _so mom's human, why else would she have family here in the human world? But dad, he's a different story. He must've been powerful while in Soul Society, why else would my life be in danger by going there? Other than the threat of the captains and vice-captains, that is. Because they reside in Seireitei, but Yoruichi told me to watch where ever I go, meaning that dad had influence on the commoners and other folk, too. Was he a noble of some sort?_ She looked down, searching the ground for the entrance to the basement. _I suppose that would make sense. Must've been way up to actually have enemies willing to act on their disagreements. _. All that covered the entrance was the wooden planks of the ground, a single hole showing that there was another level yet to be seen in this small and reclusive shrine. She smiled as she found it, opening it up, she remembered the first time she went down. It was a hole in the ground, having only a ladder to help one on their way. It was extremely deep, fading off into darkness quickly. Not hesitating for a moment, she went down the first ten or so before grabbing the sides of the ladder, and sliding her feet out onto the edge as well, she slid the rest of the way down. Her feet made contact with the soft feel of sand as she hit the ground, and the only light there was showed little but a bowl hanging by the entrance of a tunnel that went deeper into the mountain. She grabbed the empty wooden bowl with her left hand, and placing her right over it, she sent a small amount of spirit energy into it. Her energy seemed to catch flame, as a ball of fire seemed to settle into the bowl, neither catching the wood on fire nor giving off any heat, but exuding as much light as her spirit energy allowed. Holding the bowl of fire in her hand, the tunnel before her became visible, the light shining through. The walls of the tunnel were rectangular and stone, Sekkiseki stone Yoruichi had told her once. The floor was sand, still in its same position from the last time she had come. Mei walked forward, the darkness enclosing the entrance of the tunnel behind her in its warm grasp.

As she kept walking, she kept replaying everything that Yoruichi had said. The information wasn't much, but it was enough to base conclusions on when combined with information about what was before her. Soon she reached the end of the tunnel, and all that stood before her was a plain stone door. Placing a hand on it, she pushed forward softly. The stone moved back against her touch like butter, and as she slid her hand to the right, the door followed her motion. Light lit the room before her, as if it were naturally given off by all of the objects in it. Sucking the energy in the bowl back into her, she tossed it on the floor lightly but carefully. Stepping through the open doorway, she gazed at what lay before her. Gold, silver, copper, these were the metals to be found in the room, followed by bronze, and steel. There were rubies and diamonds, sapphires and emeralds, topazes and quartz, stones and gems of all kinds. Statues were in the room, many of familiar Egyptian deities and others of people. Linens were in open boxes, gold cloth wrapped around objects. The room was crammed with all of these things, and the room wasn't small either. It was huge, yet it seemed so tiny since it was packed with so much precious things that would make even the richest of men knees weak. Walking throughout the room, she allowed her fingers to touch the spoils of treasure. All of it was ancient, all of it was beautiful. A large statue of the jackal-headed Anubis stood, not the only one of its size in the room. Yet she found herself nodding to it as she passed, as if it were another being in this place. A being deserving of her respect and attention. Passing Horus, she did the same to him. Going over to a trunk that caught her eye, she pulled out some of the linens in it; they were designed for a king. _No,_ she corrected herself, _a pharaoh. And thus, a god._ She walked through the room, allowing herself to feel the comfort that was expressed by each and every object in it. Feathers, still soft and full despite their age, were in another area, and jewelry was found at each and every place one looked. Smiling, she laid in the sand on her back. She closed her eyes, the sand felt nice on her skin. She was happy, here with the spirits of her ancestors and her parents. It was as if all they wanted was to protect her, and she felt their warmth all around her.

Suddenly it grew hot and dry. The sand on her back was no longer comforting, it felt like stone. She couldn't feel the flannel of her pants or the fabric of her shirt, but what she knew was that she was dressed in light linens and silk. Her body was hot, and sticky; blood, her conscious reigned on her, covered in blood and sweat. _Help,_ the words entered her head, _must help._ A woman's scream sounded, her eyes shot open.

Mei was back in the room of her ancestors. All of the sudden discomfort she felt was gone, replaced by the protective feeling of the room again. Mei looked at her hands, making sure she was still flesh and bone. They no longer felt sweaty and hot, but cool with the feel of sand against them. She furrowed her brows, what was that? She had most certainly stayed in the room, but it was as if she were in another world entirely. In another time, almost. Deciding that the experience was enough for one day, she left the shrine the way she found it. It was dark outside, probably around dinner time, yet Mei wasn't hungry at all. Once back at the shop, she ran to the sanctuary of her bed and fell asleep. The day had been too long, and all she wanted to do was get to the next one already.

-----Mei, couple days (around a week) later

Shower. That was the first and foremost thing Mei wanted after going head to head with Ururu for one week straight. Mei had asked the girl to help her on her hand-to-hand combat abilities, and being the polite person she was, she agreed. Much to Mei's dismay soon thereafter. But in the end, Mei had been able to beat Ururu, by a lot. But now, climbing up the wretched ladder to her room, she had her thoughts on one thing only: the hot, steamy comfort of a shower. Mei drug herself into the bathroom, not even bothering gathering her clothes for when she got out. The hot liquid pressed against her skin, racking her body into tremors of both exhaustion and happiness. Tomorrow was August first, the day of the fireworks celebration. She'd wear the gold and pink kimono she'd picked out while at the mall with Rukia and the others. Climbing out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around herself. Memories of that day flooded her, and the image of Rukia in the kimono she picked out filled her with both sorrow and determination. Sliding open the door, she paused when she saw who was in her room. Her eye twitched as the strawberry went the color of his name, and held his nose which had started to bleed thoroughly. She sweatdropped, was he that inexperienced? Catching sight of the bags by his feet, he turned around so not to face her.

"Well geez, you're shy." She walked to her drawers, holding the towel around her tightly. Pulling out her underwear and bra, she slipped them on; a guy like him wouldn't turn around. Problem was though, that she had to walk past him to get to her closet.

"You done?" He asked, one hand over his eyes and the other holding his still dripping nose.

"I'm decent at least, if that's what you mean." He nodded and turned around as Mei walked by him to get to her closet. His eyes near popped out of his head, which was thrown back by the force of the nosebleed he got. He scrambled out of the room, slamming the sliding door shut. Mei grinned, she could have a lot of fun with him like that.

"You said you were decent!" He yelled at her past her door. She pulled out a blue and white stripped spaghetti strap shirt and jean short shorts. Slipping them on, she walked over to her door and slid it open, Ichigo stood with his back to her room, as if completely untempted to look at her. She slid her arms around his waist, feeling him tense up. His face got redder than a tomato, and he grabbed her arms and yanked her off of him.

"What? Big boy doesn't want to play?" She grinned as she walked back in the room, Ichigo following with his eyes closed, face still red. "I'm dressed now, by the way." He opened his eyes, relieved at seeing the girl have cloths on. Mei frowned, "You know, keep up that bashful act any longer and I'm going to start thinking you're gay." He frowned.

"I'm not gay." He picked up the bags and carefully sat them on her bed, where she was sitting cross-legged. Mei shrugged, looking through the bags.

"Whatever you say." Her eyes widened at the content of the plastic bags, all of it was the stuff she or others had gotten or given Rukia. "What… is this?" She fingered the cloths, many of them cute outfits Mei had picked out and bought for the girl. The earrings Mei had given her for Valentine's Day, the kimono Rukia had gotten the day at the mall, all of the things were in there.

"All of Rukia's stuff. I figured you would have a better use for it than me, considering you got her half the stuff in there." Mei nodded, that was true. Ichigo scratched the back of his head, and then brought his hand down to rest on his neck. "When we save her, you can give her some of it back. That is, if you want to be the one carrying it." Mei nodded; she'd definitely carry it for Rukia. She had plenty of small backpacks that could carry tons, after all. Ichigo turned around and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving the devastated Mei to herself. Mei held the clothing to herself, hugging the silk material. An idea clicked in her head. Picking up the phone, she called Orihime, who happily agreed to the plan. Mei smiled and crashed on her bed. Within the month her beautiful goddess would be in her arms again.

August first came, and Mei had a great time at the fireworks festival. She spent money on useless things like chocolate covered strawberries (her favorite food), and fried onion rings (it was new, but good). All in all, she had decided not to wear her kimono to the festival, as did Orihime and Tatsuki. So walking about with some of her school friends, she had one heck of a night. But once she got home, she knew she had no time to spare. She tossed in hers and Rukia's kimonos in a bag, and put any jewelry that she or her goddess would need (which included Rukia's earrings and Mei's new Valentine's Day necklace, bracelet, and earring pack). So walking to the entrance of the shop with her small yellow and red backpack thrown over her shoulder, she met the ground in her ruffed up old white tennis shoes. She had on a pair of gray sweats, and a white beater. Her hair was up in her usual ponytail, and a spare hair-bow was around Mei's wrist. Her hair had gotten longer over the months (it grew very fast) and it was now a little past mid back when pulled up. Having been living here, she wasn't surprised when she was the first one of the group in the basement, besides her uncle Kisuke. She waved to him as she approached, a greeting he returned. Walking up to him, she was shocked when he hugged her.

"Come back safely, okay?" He asked, looking at her straight in the eyes. Mei nodded and hugged him back.

"Don't worry, I will." With their little moment over, she felt the others approaching. She waved to them as they got closer, with only Orihime responding. They high-fived when they got close enough, giggling at their own antics.

"Jibade-san? You're coming?" Ishida Uryuu asked as he pushed his glasses farther up his nose. Mei looked him over, Yoruichi had told her earlier who all was coming, and she had to admit, she was shocked when she heard the guys name.

"I wasn't expecting you to show either, Ishida-san." The others sweatdropped at their distant remarks. They knew that Mei and Ishida had never been friends, but calling each other such formal names? It was like the two never conversed at all (because in truth, so far the longest conversation they ever had was the one they were in now). The two nodded to each other, showing their approval; it caused the other to sweatdrop even harder.

"Ah, Mei, you remember our agreement, yes?" Yoruichi spoke, coming around and sitting at said girls feet.

"Yep, I'll do my best." Mei said as she grabbed the cat and cuddled it in her arms.

_She's not freaked out at all by the talking cat…_Both Ichigo and Ishida noted.

"Ah, Hime-chan! You bring it?" Mei asked the girl, who in turn motioned to the small pack on her back, nodding.

"Oh! Everyone's here! That's great! Next, come in and I'll explain to you guys how to get to Soul Society. Please listen carefully; otherwise, you guys might die before you arrive at Soul Society." With that, he ushered them into the shop, Mei following him and the others following her. As they hit the basement ground, however, Orihime's reaction was better than the other's.

"This is amazing! I didn't know there was such a large place underground! This is so cool! This seems like a secret underground basement!" Tessai's eyes sparkled at the compliment to his skills.

"…You…" He grabbed her hand in joy, "Your reaction is so good! I, Tessai, feel so touched!" Orihime laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. Urahara clapped his hands to get everybody's attention.

"Okay everybody! Please look over here!" He said it as if not everybody was. "We're about to go!" He snapped his fingers, and out of nowhere, four huge blocks flew together into the form of a giant rectangle box. "Come," He said, Mei knew he was secretly reveling in the shocked looks everybody was throwing at him, "This is the door to Soul Society; Senkaimon. Please listen carefully, I will now teach you the way to go through this door without dying." Without warning, he jammed his cane (Benihime) through Ichigo's head, separating him from his human body. Ishida, Chad, and Orihime had fun examining it.

"Oh!" All three of them said in unison.

"He's been completely separated." Ishida said, poking the head of the empty body.

"Oi, then Kurosaki -kun, does that mean that you can't enter this Kurosaki-kun over here?" Orihime asked, pointing to the empty shell and questioning the soul.

"Of course I can… why are you guys freely touching my body?" Ichigo asked, getting a pulsing vain above his brow.

"That's right! That body will soon be temporarily mine! You guys should not touch it!" Ichigo yelped as a talking toy lion popped up on his shoulder, shaking his fist at the group of gapers.

_A-A TOY CAN TALK?!_ Mei was pretty sure she shared the shocking thought with the others of the group.

"Ah! But Inoue-san and Mei-san can touch it!" Mei sweatdropped with depression lines coming in, how did it know her name?

"KON! What are you doing here?!" Ichigo yelled to the toy on his shoulder.

"You're asking me why? I'm going with you of course! You want to leave me behind? As the man, Kon, I will go through all difficulties and reach Soul Society-" That was as far as the toy got before being picked up by Chad, causing him to scream. "Wh-What are you doing here?! N-No!" The group sweatdropped as Chad took care of the problem.

"Okay! Look over here! I'm going to start the explanation of the door!" Urahara waved his hands, successfully getting everybody's attention to him. He then went on with the rather boring explanation of how the door was made, causing Mei to zone out. But when seeing Urahara jab Ichigo in the side with his cane, she zoned back in. "The problem is time. The time allowed for you to go through Senkaimon and into Soul Society is four minutes!" Her shocked expression must've matched everyone else's, because he continued to elaborate, "Once the time is up the door will close, and you guys will be forever locked in the Dangai. Plus, inside the Dangai, it's filled with a current called Kouryuu, which can stop souls from moving. Just one foot caught by it, and the chance of leaving the Dangai in time is close to impossible." At this point, Yoruichi jumped out of Mei's arms, and Orihime looked worriedly to Urahara.

"Then what should we do?" She asked, and Mei could tell both worry and fear mingled in her tone.

"Just walk forward." The cat came by and looked her in the eyes as the girl exclaimed her name, "The heart and soul are connected. What's important is how your heart thinks. Only those who can do should follow me." With that, Yoruichi stepped forward, looking back on the group of teens.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo spoke up, taking the role of leader of the group, "Those who chose to gather here have made their decision and are determined to follow it!" A couple nods came from the others, and Yoruichi accepted the answer.

"You should know very well kid, if you lose, you will never return." Ichigo just looked at her stubbornly.

"Of course we have to win!" Yoruichi nodded.

"Well said."

"Are you ready? At the moment it's opened, you guys dash in there." Urahara spoke from the gates side, looking at them from under his hat.

"Kon! Take care of my family." Ichigo spoke to the tied up stuffed animal. The gate opened, "Let's go!" He yelled, and they all dashed in. Inside the Dangai, it looked as if the walls were malting wax and the floors were some sort of rough stone. But everything was dark.

"Come on! Don't zone out! Hurry and run! The Kouryuu will close in!" Yoruichi snapped at them, and they all got to it and started running.

"It caught up with us!" Ishida yelled, glancing back, "The parts we've run through are closing in!"

If you have time to look back, why not run faster! If you're caught, you're dead!" As if irony decided to kick in, Ishida's weird mantle thing got caught by the Kouryuu. Just as Ichigo yelled at him for wearing his "stupid" clothes, and was about to pull his zanpakuto, Yoruichi stopped him.

"Don't! Kouryuu traps souls, if your zanpakuto touches it, you're a goner!" Ichigo faltered.

"Then what should I do?!" He yelled, getting angry at himself. As if on cue, Chad appeared beside Ishida and ripped of his mantle, tossing Ishida over his shoulder, he continued to run with everyone ahead (much to Ishida's protest).

"Guys look… it's like something is coming…" A bright light started to appear behind them. It was a giant ball of something with a bright light at the front. It caught up rapidly, and was on their heels in no time. As Yoruichi gave the explanation (Mei was to focused on running to listen), it was apparent that both the exit and the thing were close. Close enough to kill.

"Hurry! We're almost there!" Yoruichi yelled, and Mei saw Orihime look back.

"Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily!" She yelled, summoning three fairy like people that formed a triangle shield. "Santen Kesshu! I reject!" An orange shield popped up, and an explosion sounded as the group fell from the sky, all landing in weird positions on top of Orihime's shield. Smoke was everywhere, and as Mei tried to catch her breath from running so hard, she straightened her back, having fallen onto her belly.

"Whew! Is everyone alright?" Orihime asked, sitting up. Mei looked around everyone seemed to be fine. Ichigo, though, had landed with his legs over his head while he was on his back. "Hah! Kurosaki-kun's landing pose it so awesome!" She clapped her hands to emphasize her point.

"Shut up, you talk too much." He scolded, sitting up. Ishida mumbled something about being pathetic, but Mei was busy watching the smoke clear. But noticing that he brought a spare mantle, she sweatdropped. One would think that a guy with such great sewing skills would have a better sense of style.

"That's great! Nobody got hurt!" Orihime exclaimed, but all too soon, for Yoruichi head butted her in the eye.

"What's so great?!" She then proceeded to scold Orihime, who was holding her eye in pain.

"Oi!" Mei called to them, snapping her fingers in irritation. "The smoke's clearing!"


	7. The Ox and the Technician!

**Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the delayed update, I've been so busy!!! Anyways, I didn't do an intro or end on the other one, so this one will make up for it. First, Yes, I am quoting the manga word for word. Deal. It's a pain in my butt, but I do it so you guys don't miss important info. Second, are you shocked that I skipped Mei's training? Ah well, you'll see her zanpakuto soon enough. No, this will most definitely not be an IchigoxOc. I have narrowed down the possible candidates for pairings back down to Renji or Rukia. I'm leaning towards Renji because the plotline makes more sense if he's the pairing, but Rukia will fit, too. Also, even if I don't choose Rukia, there will be plenty of Mei and Rukia "time". No huns, no sex, bad gutter-headed people! Also, no, none of you asked me any of these questions through reviews or anything of the like, I just reread the chapters and decided that these would be the main questions most would be likely to ask. Love you all, reviewing or not!**

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"This is Soul Society?" Mei asked, only to get another explanation from Yoruichi. The streets and houses looked like some old Japanese style, but Mei noticed that the roads didn't have any people on it.

"Yeah, this is the Rukongai, the outskirts. It's where souls live, and surrounds Seireitei. The Rukongai is the poorest and biggest free area, but also holds the most souls." Mei was glad the explanation was short, she was going to have a habit of zoning out during those things they were so long and unnecessary.

"But nobodies here…" Ishida was about to continue when Ichigo stepped in.

"What? Those streets over there don't look much different from the streets we live on!" Ichigo exclaimed, and just as Yoruichi was about to explain, Ichigo started racing toward it, "I know! That must be where those Shinigami people live, isn't it?"

"IDIOT!" Yoruichi yelled after him, "You can't go near there! You could die!" Ichigo stopped in mid run and looked back at her, and a shadow loomed over him. Mei took a step back, blocking her eyes from the dust and debris that scattered when giant walls of stone came down; Ichigo had barely dodged. A booming voice was heard in the sky.

"It's been such a long time since someone tried to get into Seireitei without a pass." A giant man seamed to appear from nowhere. He was big and bulky, and looked like the type that was all brawn and no brains. His face was slightly gorilla like, but then again, he looked like a giant to her, so why couldn't he be a giant gorilla? "Finally I have something to do. I'll treat you nice, kid!" The big ox (Mei's new affectionate nickname) pulled out a giant axe and slammed it toward Ichigo. Mei didn't dive toward him like the others; she knew what Ichigo was capable of. And taking down the ox would be all too easy for him. "Bring it on! Attack from whatever angle you want kiddo!" He spoke as he drew back he axe.

"He's so big! With that body, he sure isn't a human, right?" Ishida asked in awe to Yoruichi, who was looking very angry at the moment.

"His name is Jidanbou. He is one of the elites in Soul Society. The guard of one of the four gates, the west one, generally called the Seireimon Gate." Ishida looked through his glasses at the guy, while Mei figured she better listen or she'll fall behind on the info.

"So we have to beat that monster to get into Seireitei?" Yoruichi nodded at his question.

"It won't be easy, Jidanbou has guarded that gate for three hundred years, and nobody has ever entered without a pass." The conversation continued from there, until Yoruichi yelled to Ichigo, "Ichigo! Retreat! We'll come up with a plan! Oi, Ichigo!" Chad and Orihime burst past Yoruichi, running to Ichigo's aid. "Chad! Orihime! Didn't you guys hear me?! Come back!" Mei watched as the ox picked up his axe and swung, not at Ichigo, but at the ground behind him. As if to create a wall between the spectators and participants, which really happened. The ox then began to scold Orihime and Chad about the rules in Seireitei, leaving them only more desperate to get to their friend. Mei walked to the wall slowly, getting there in time with Ishida and Yoruichi to hear Ichigo's voice from the other side of the wall.

"Chad and you stay there! Don't do anything, alright?" Orihime was about to protest when Ichigo cut her off, "Don't worry! Wait there!"

"What are you talking about?!" Ishida yelled from beside her. "You've seen for yourself just how strong Jidanbou's power is! I don't care what you've learned in the past ten days, he's not the type you face alone!"

"Ah, there you are, Ishida. Mei, you there too?" Ishida started screaming at Ichigo over the wall. "Ah… so noisy…"

"Yeah, I'm here. You need me to take care of the guy for ya? I'm still stronger than you, ya know."

"Nah, I got 'em." Ichigo's response came, and Mei nodded, she had known from the beginning.

"Can you fight?" Chad asked, finally talking.

"Possibly." Ichigo answered, Mei could hear the confidence in his voice. But apparently Ishida didn't, because he started to yell at Ichigo again. Then Ichigo complained about how noisy he was again, and began to explain what he did while at Urahara's. Once done explaining, the fight started. Mei could hear the battle cries of the ox, and seeing Orihime's worried face, she wrapped and arm around the girl's shoulder.

"Don't worry, the strawberry will be fine. If he couldn't take the guy, I would've gone to his aid by now. I saw what type of training he went through, and fighting this ox will be as easy as taking candy from a baby." Mei encouraged the girl, only to get a worried nod and a small smile. Soon enough, Ichigo had crushed the man's axes, and the ox agreed to open the gate. Immediately everyone hustled to Jidanbou's side as he began to lift the huge door. He stopped halfway though, to everyone's curiosity, and began to laugh nervously.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, Mei looked forward into the city. There was a man with silver white hair and slit eyes walking forward to the gate. He had a creepy grin on his face, all in all, he reminded Mei of a fox. Mei's eyes narrowed, something about the guy didn't settle right with her. "Who is this guy?" Ichigo asked, catching sight of the same person she was looking at.

"Third Division Captain… Ichimaru Gin!" Jidanbou exclaimed, fear and terror entering his expression.

"Ah, this isn' allowed." The guy said, his voice even sounded off. All Mei saw was a spray of blood, and Jidanbou's arm sent flying backwards, the guy tried his hardest to keep the door open with one arm, and keep his mind off the pain on his shoulder. "That's too bad, you're a gatekeeper. Openin' the door ain't your duty." Jidanbou huffed, and began to open the gate all the way, blood spraying everywhere. Some of it splashed in Mei's hair, and her eyes narrowed dangerously in disgust. She looked to the third squad captain, her aura emitting viciousness. Jidanbou seemed to lose some of his strength, for the door fell to his shoulders, still supporting it with one hand. "Oh, you can still hold the door even with one hand? No wonder you're one of the elites in Soul Society. However, you still fail as the guardian." Mei was about to talk to the guy, when she noticed his haori. _Captain_, the alarms in her mind rang, _get the others the hell out of here!_ Almost instinctively, her zanpakuto appeared in her left hand, ready to defend her friends and even the ox if need be.

"Because I lost…" Her mind was snapped out of its thoughts by said ox's voice, "The guardian opens the door when he loses. It's only natural!" The captain seemed to find humor in the giant's words.

"What idiotic rules are you talkin' 'bout? You misunderstood," his voice hit a dangerous note, "Even when the guardian loses, he may not open the door." He began to walk forward, "If the guardian lost, that would mean… he must be executed." As fear entered the eyes of the ox, Ichigo drew his zanpakuto and attacked the guy, successfully blocking his attack. Both then skidded back from the collision, and Ichigo made chopping motions with his sword.

"What the hell do you think you're doing punk?!" He yelled at the fox face, "We won against Jidanbou fair and square! Then you just pop outa nowhere and start attacking!" The captain held his zanpakuto, it was rather small, almost a short as a knife. "Inoue," Ichigo called to the girl, tone completely serious, "See to Jidanbou's arm please." The girl nodded.

"Ah, okay!"

"Come," Ichigo beckoned the captain, a very stupid move, Mei noted, "If you're so eager to fight, then I'll be your opponent. For a no good punk like you who attacks an unarmed person so hastily…" His grip on his sword tightened, "I'll rip you apart." The captain laughed shortly.

"Ha! You're such an interestin' guy! Aren't you afraid of me?" His grin was starting to irritate Mei a lot.

"Absolutely no-" Ichigo was cut off by Yoruichi.

"Oi! Stop messing around Ichigo! Let's retreat first!" The name seemed to catch the captain's attention.

"What for?! I just got started!" Ichigo complained, yelling back at Yoruichi.

"I see, so you're Kurosaki Ichigo?" Ichigo turned back around to his opponent.

"You know me?" Fox-face promptly began to walk away.

"So he does exist. If that's the case, I definitely cannot let you pass." The captain held out his zanpakuto.

"Then why are you walking so far away? You planning on throwing that knife at me?" Ichigo yelled to the guy, who quickly turned around. Mei got what he was going to do, and released her zanpakuto just in time with his, approaching Ichigo slightly faster than the sword.

"Shoot him, Shinsou!" "Protect your charge, Nephthys!"

Her zanpakuto spread into a giant metal fan about a meter long, which she spread out to defend against the blade that had attacked and would've killed her friend. The force of the attack sent her flying back into Ichigo, who in turn, flew back into Jidanbou's chest, knocking all of them out of Seireitei. She could hear the others call her and Ichigo's name, before the mocking sound of the fox-face's voice.

"Bye-bye!" And then the gate slammed down, killing off any of their attempts to get back inside. Blinking her eyes, she shook her head. She was sitting on something soft, but yet stiff. Glancing down, she saw that the strawberry had broken her fall. Standing up with Nephthys in hand, she saw Orihime and the others rush to where she and Ichigo fell.

"Are you okay, Mei-chan? Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked as she came to Mei's side. Mei retracted her zanpakuto, it glowing a frosty white before shrinking into its dormant state, where she sheathed it and made it disappear. Ichigo popped up behind Mei.

"It hurts! That punk! He nearly killed me!" He looked to Mei, "And why the hell'd you step in?!"

"Because you wouldn't have been able to block that attack, so I did for you! You would've died, facing off with a captain like that! Who the hell do you think you are anyways?!" Her anger snapped, and he shrunk into silence, shocked at her outburst. Her fist shook, and without thinking, she punched him. The contact sent him backwards, flying through the air for a bit, then skidding across the ground. He finally stopped ten meters or so on the other side of Jidanbou's body. He sat up, and rubbed his cheek. That punch _hurt like hell_. Feeling around in his mouth, he was shocked to find he wasn't missing any teeth.

"Don't figh-" Ishida's hand on her shoulder made Orihime stop.

"What you did was stupid, you idiot! Did you actually think you would win?!" Mei's whole body trembled with rage; she was going to beat the hell out of him.

"Onee-san?" A young voice came from somewhere in the crowd. Wait…crowd? When the hell did people show up? She looked down in front of her, there was a little boy standing there, in his hand a small flower. Finding a soft spot for the kid (she had one for children in general), she bent her knees to squat down in front of him smiling softly.

"Yes?" She asked softy. Her group sweatdropped, what the hell happened to make her change so quickly? It was like night and day, the differences in her behavior. The kid smiled at her, no longer scared.

"This is for you!" He held out the small red flower, and Mei took it carefully. "For saving Jidanbou-san." Mei smiled at the kid again.

"Why thank you!" She ruffled his hair, causing him to giggle. "You're so sweet!" Taking the red flower, she slipped it into her hair bow, so the flower dangled out of her hair. Ichigo heaved a sigh of relief, he'd have to thank the kid later, he had just saved his life. Standing up, he dusted off his pants. Walking over to the group he watched as Mei happily conversed with the kid and a growing crowd around her. Come to think of it, there was a crowd around them all.

-----Later

"So, you two having a lovers spat?" One of the men in the room asked Ichigo as they sat down for dinner. Ichigo choked on the soup.

"Wha-what?" He was able to cough out. The man looked at him like he was stupid.

"Your girlfriend! The one from earlier! She punched you and started screaming. Looked like a lovers spat to me." Ichigo felt his brow twitching.

"She's Not My Girlfriend!" He snapped at the guy, who grinned in return.

"So she's single? Sweet!" The guy leaned back over and started fiddling in the mud. Yoruichi had made the soup for the team, and for some reason, none of the village people were eating.

"Speaking of Mei, go bring her some soup." Yoruichi commanded Ichigo.

"What?! Why do I have to?! If you haven't realized, she wants to kill me!" Ichigo yelled out, causing Yoruichi to glare at him, he gulped; it was almost as scary as Mei's.

"Because you ticked her off in the first place, now she's sitting up on the roof going cold and without food! At least do something and bring her the soup!" Ichigo grumbled, but nonetheless did as he was told. "And apologize while you're at it!" Yoruichi scolded him as he left. He went outside and easily jumped onto the roof. Climbing up one side with the bowl in hand, he made sure not to spill it as he went and sat by Mei.

"Your soup." He held it out to her, and she took it without a word. She raised it to her lips and took a gulp, obviously planning on not speaking to him. The flower still hung in her hair bow, he noticed. "I'm sorry." He blurted out, he didn't mean to say it, but then again, he didn't know what else to say.

"For?" She asked, voice cold but skeptical. Ichigo responded with the answer that always got him out of trouble.

"Being an idiot." He was shocked when she scoffed and rolled her eyes, as if she'd heard it a million times before. Which she hadn't, this was the first time he could remember apologizing to the girl. He was even more shocked when she glanced at him, catching his gaze. She sighed, and held the bowl in her hands to warm her fingers.

"I was worried. You scared me with your reckless action. I don't want you getting hurt, and fighting a captain is a one way trip to the underworld. You understand?" She looked to him out of the corner of her eyes, catching his nod. _So that was why she got angry,_ he thought to himself, finally getting it, _she feared for my life._ He watched as she stood, soon to mimic that action. "If you get it, then don't do it again." He nodded again, and they walked back into the village elders place again. Mei fell asleep early that night, as if her little "episode" had exhausted her.

----- The next morning

"…and then they rode off." Mei blinked as Orihime finished her story. She had slept through all of that? She blinked again in disbelief, then nodded her head slowly. So now they were going to visit some guy named Kuukaku, who could supposedly get them into Seireitei without using the gate. She sighed as Ichigo and Ishida started bickering over which way the house was again. That was, until Yoruichi stepped in and said she could recognize the house on sight. But then again, looking at the two giant arms holding up a banner that said "Shiba Kuukaku" across it, Mei wondered if the guy really did like it in the countryside or if he just got kicked out of the city for his house's outrageous design.

"Oh, it's human hands this time. That's pretty good." Yoruichi commented as the humans stared in awe. "See, just from one glance, right?" _Who couldn't…_Mei thought sourly, she didn't want to be seen walking under that thing. Something else caught her eye though, a giant chimney, at least four times the house's height, had its exit blocked off. She briefly wondered why until, as they walked forward, two large buff men wearing matching outfits popped up out of seemingly nowhere.

"Hold on! Who're you?" One of them asked.

"Their clothes are really weird! And one of them is a Shinigami!" The other stated, both crossing their arms. _Really?_ Mei thought to herself, _'cause I'm thinking that you guys' clothes are the weird ones._

"A bunch of suspicious people! We, Koganehiko and Shiruganehiko, will definitely not let you pass!" The other nodded.

"Get out, or else you will die here!" Ichigo reached up to his sword, ready to draw and fight. Yoruichi trounced playfully up beside him.

"Che…" Ichigo spat, tightening his grip, "Why is there so many guards in Soul Society? Such a troublesome place." Yoruichi looked up at the guards, and their expressions turned shocked.

"Yo-Yoruichi-dono?!" Without further ado, they were let in, Mei brought up the rear in the line they formed going down a long narrow stairway. One of the men stayed to guard the entrance, the other apologized for his actions as he led the way down. "Aiya aiya, I'm really sorry! I didn't think Yoruichi-dono would be with you guys! Please forgive my rudeness!" Yoruichi waved it off.

"It's okay, I didn't notice you guys first, so it's my fault too." The guy scratched the back of his head.

"Haha! You're very kind!" They got to the end of the stairs, where the buff guy stopped them. "Please wait here for a moment." A voice came from behind a sliding door.

"Is it Koganehiko?"

"Yes!"

"Seems like there's a rare guest! Hurry up and open the door! Don't be slow!"

"Okay! I'll open it immediately!" He did as he was told.

"Yo!" Came a female voice, and Mei examined the lady, noticing the shocked expressions of her companions. She had black hair and eyes, her head had been wrapped in bandages oddly. She had a stub of a right arm, with some sort of sword thrown over her shoulder. Her figure was voluptuous, and was hardly covered by what she wore. All in all, Mei summed up, a very threatening person. "Long time no see, Yoruichi!" She looked at the group of teens, both confusion and weariness entering her eyes, "Who are these kids?" Yoruichi walked forward into the room, sitting down in front of Kuukaku.

"Actually Kuukaku, I came here today to ask a favor." Kuukaku nodded.

"I see, isn't it the same every time you come?" Mei sat down behind Yoruichi, the others copying her movement. "Is it complicated?"

"I think so." Kuukaku laughed shortly.

"Ha! It's been a long time since we've had this type of conversation!" Excitement echoed in her voice, "Okay! Tell me! I love complicated stuff…" Yoruichi went on to explain what they needed. "I see. I think I understand. Alright! I accept this job!"

"Really?!" Yoruichi asked, as if she had expected to be turned down.

"Yeah, since Urahara is a part of this, I can't really refuse…" She died down and eyed the group of teens, when Mei met her gaze something like shock and confusion flashing for an instant before leaving. "However, just because I trust you doesn't mean I trust those kids." She looked to Ichigo in particular, "I'll send one of my men with you just to make sure. No objections?"

"Of course not." Yoruichi's tone was only slightly weary, but the hints showed through to Mei.

"Your man?" Ichigo wondered as Kuukaku walked over to a wall to their right, hand on another sliding door.

"Yeah, he's my little brother. A punk, but still not good enough. Oi! Ready?" She called past the door.

"No… wait…" A male voice came from the other side.

"I'm opening the door! Be courteous!" There was shuffling coming from the other side.

"O-okay! Got it onee-sama!" She slid open the door. There sat a guy dressed in traditional Japanese clothing, grinning like an idiot.

"Hello everyone! My name is Shiba Ganju! Pleased to meet you!" The others stared in a mixture of shock and stupidity at him. Mei blinked, _did I miss something?_

"AHHHH! YOU!!!" Both Ichigo and Ganju yelled at each other in unison.

"Eh? You two know each other?" The two immediately began to fight leaving Mei in a state of confusion. Orihime leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"That's the guy who rode his boar into the elder's house yesterday while you were sleeping!" Mei nodded, making note to not fall asleep around the guy again. They continued fighting, rustling around the room. Mei heard a snap, and looked to where Kuukaku was standing, her pipe had broken. Without warning, she punched Ganju in the head and kicked Ichigo with just as much force.

"Knock it off!" The two started gravelling in pain, Mei was shocked that the lady didn't stop them earlier, but the others seemed to be shocked that Kuukaku even stepped in (Yoruichi seemed to be in the same boat as Mei). "You two started fighting the instant you saw each other! What on earth has gotten into you?!" Ichigo got on his hands and knees, saying something along the lines of "like brother like sister", while Ganju started making excuses to his sister. Mei didn't think (just a first impression) that Kuukaku was the type to take excuses, turns out, she was right. After knocking sense into her little brother, she threatened Ichigo lowly. "Alright everyone!" The group snapped to attention at her commanding call. "Now, follow me this way." She led them out of the room and down the hall, ignoring one of Ishida's questions. As Ganju opened the door, Mei couldn't help but stare in shock. Inside the room was a giant black chimney like structure, Mei could only assume it was connected to the one she saw above ground.

"What…is it?" Ichigo asked in shock.

"So big!" Ishida exclaimed, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"I'm using this to shoot you into Seireitei! From the sky!" Kuukaku pointed upwards.

"The sky?!" Both of the boys stood with their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"I'm Shiba Kuukaku…" She died off, hair shadowing her eyes. "First-class fireworks technician!"


	8. Royalty? The Hell? A Fight Starts!

After the initial shock went around, and everyone started practicing, Mei saw Yoruichi leave the room with Kuukaku. Ignoring their odd behavior, she went back to practicing, getting the drift of it immediately. It was like the bowl that lit the way in her family shrine, once you put some of your energy in it, it created something. Instead of fire though, this one created a barrier. She'd have to complement Kuukaku for its genius later. By the time she got it down completely, it was time for dinner. Though walking into the dining room, she saw there was one less set of plates then there need be. Yoruichi walked into the room, catching Mei's attention.

"Kuukaku wants to speak with you Mei, your dinner is in there." She tilted her head in a motion to a door at the end of a hall. As Mei passed Yoruichi, the cat whispered something to her, "I trust her, you can tell her anything." Mei nodded, a seriousness engulfing her attitude. She walked to the room and slid the door open an inch.

"May I come in?" _That had to be the longest sentence she said all day_, Kuukaku thought, _she hasn't been much of a talker_.

"Yeah, and no need to be so formal. I'm an ally, not an enemy." Mei nodded, and stepped in, shutting the door behind her. Seeing a set of plates on a tray, she sat down in front of it as Kuukaku started eating her meal. Mei soon did the same. "So, your Khai's kid eh?" Mei blinked, she knew her parents? Then maybe she could get some information here after all. She nodded, her mouth full. "Yoruichi's told me of your situation, and though I may not agree with your presence here, I disagree more with you not knowing about your heritage." Mei's eyes widened, so she would tell?

"How do you know my parents? Better yet, _who were_ my parents?" Kuukaku grinned, breaking up some of the seriousness of the conversation.

"You're just like your dad, serious and quiet. What's your name kid?" Mei sweatdropped, the lady completely ignored her questions.

"I'm only quiet when I'm thinking, or just not in the mood to talk. Other than that, I'm pretty much a happy go lucky person. My name's Mei, short for Jibade Shemei." Kuukaku seemed to nod her approval, her grin widening.

"Oh? So you take after your aunt?" At Mei's confused look, she switched subjects. "Anyways Mei, I think it's high time you knew about what happened to your family, and why it's so dangerous for you to be here. Yoruichi is under an oath, so she won't budge on the issue, but I never made any promise to your dad, so I'll tell you before you find out the hard way." Mei was slightly confused, was this all about her dad? She wanted to know what happened to her mom, too. But ignoring the nagging in the back of her mind, she sipped her tea as the other began the story. "Long story short, you're a princess." Tea spewed forth from her mouth as she started choking on the liquid. Kuukaku seemed to find humor in her actions, because instead of being angry that tea was staining her floors, she was laughing her ass off.

"Okay…" Mei said, getting over her choking fit. "Now, let's start from the beginning. My name is Mei, you're Kuukaku. I'm no princess, you're a fireworks technician. I don't belong in royalty, you have a chance." The other's laughter quieted as Mei wiped her mouth; there went over half of her cup of tea.

"Yep! Just like your aunt!" Her grin was really starting to set Mei on edge, "You're the only living heir to the Jibade House. They were exterminated twenty or so years back, far as I know, your dad was the only living one left, and he fled to the human world. But of course, I thought he was dead until Yoruichi told me otherwise just a few moments ago!" She started cracking up again, leaving Mei to sweatdrop. Who did she think she was joking?

"I told you, I'm no heir to any house. I've never seen any proof of this, hell, even if I am one, I'm not going to go crazy and say something like "Really? Then I guess you have to bow down!" and stuff like that. It's not my drift, I wasn't made for royalty. I'm no princess." Kuukaku's grin faltered and she sighed in annoyance.

"Listen kid, I wouldn't joke about stuff like this. Your aunt and father were really well known, had at least a thousand followers. Your aunt held the throne because Khai wasn't of age yet, and your dad's uncle set up an overthrow. Your aunt found out, sent the royal treasury and Khai to the human world for safe keeping, they probably installed a temple or something there, right?" Mei nodded, trying to find a hint of evidence that wouldn't support what this lady was saying, but she couldn't find anything.

"There's the family shrine…" Kuukaku nodded.

"That's it then, I take it you've seen all the treasure?" Mei nodded once more and Kuukaku continued her story. "Well, this is where I rely on Yoruichi's part of the tale. Turns out she found Khai and took him in, being friends with his now deceased sister. Khai grew up, got married to some human woman and had you. Assassins found him and killed your parents, not knowing you were even born. That's why it's dangerous for you." Mei tried to absorb all of the information at once, but it was mind boggling. "If they, the leaders of the exterminated fifth house, find out you're alive, they'll kill you. They have agents everywhere; never underestimate the power of nobility." Mei sat there, dumbstruck.

"But… how? I mean, it makes sense, I can't avoid the truth, but still… is there anything else?" Kuukaku shrugged, and pulled out a scroll from behind her.

"The details are shady, though I do know that the house fell from the recognition of the other four, so it's no longer considered nobility. I'm sure that if you travel to the east, you'll find more answers to any of the questions you have. But now it's my turn to ask something. Now that you know about your lineage, do you want to continue forth and save you friend, or do you want me to shoot you to the eastern deserts, so you can find out more?" Mei scoffed, was that even a question? Kuukaku's brows rose, shocked at the quick decision.

"Well the answers obvious, I mean, I did say I wasn't suited for royalty, right? So, I'll just pretend this conversation never happened, and I'm still on my way to save my friend." Kuukaku laughed at the other's blunt answer.

"Alright then, I'll give you this! It was originally a gift to Yoruichi from your aunt, but once she finished the technique, she gave it to me. I've got no use for it though, so here you are!" Kuukaku tossed the scroll to Mei, who stumbled with it for a minute before catching it. She peeled it open, shocked its contents. "Every house has a specialty of some sort, yours is polymorphism. I assume you know what that means?" Mei skimmed through the scroll quickly.

"I get to turn into an animal? Like Yoruichi-san?" Kuukaku grinned.

"Good, that's the basic instructions on how to do it. You only get one animal, so you have to choose carefully. Yoruichi chose a cat, I'm sure you'll choose something different."

"Um, alright, I guess I'll do it. Seems like a cool skill to have. Oh, and it's not "my house", I don't belong to it." At Mei's stubborn personality, Kuukaku sighed in annoyance.

"Whatever you say. You can't change your blood though, it'll always be the same." Mei wrapped the scroll up and put it in her small backpack. Standing, she bowed slightly.

"Thank you for the meal." Turning on her heel, she was just about to slide open the door when Kuukaku's last statement caught her.

"You look like your aunt too. From the last time I saw her, you two could be twins." Mei left without another word. She wasn't two steps past the door, however, when she felt a giant reiatsu cover her senses. Her eyes widened, it was engulfing everything. She felt the ground shake as she tried to recognize it. It was so big, yet easy enough to recognize. She raced to the training room, Kuukaku appearing right in front of her. _What the hell is Ichigo doing?!_ She screamed at herself for not keeping an eye on him, he was extremely accident prone, after all. But most of all, she was starting to get angry at him again. As she reached the site of the training room doors, she saw Ganju on the ground, and the other three standing, looking through the door in some sort of awe. "What happened?!" Kuukaku yelled as she stopped in front of Ganju, Mei stopped right behind her. "I said what happened, Ganju?!"

"I-I'm sorry onee-sama… I just taught him my shortcut, and it ended up like this… I didn't expect…" Kuukaku didn't wait for him to finish, she threw open the cracked door. She paused for a moment, then ran inside. Mei went inside just in time for her to yell at Ichigo, who was pouring all of his energy into the ball.

"HEY IDIOT!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! FOCUS AND REFINE YOUR ENERGY ALREADY!" Ichigo blinked and did as he was told. Soon, the giant ball shrank and formed a proper circle.

"I did it!" He yelled, grinning happily. The other three bunch into the room, pushing past each other to get inside.

"All right Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime yelled happily.

"Yeah!" He said, and Orihime echoed his words. His focus started to go down the drain, however, and the ball started to fuzz, then a crack appeared.

"You Idiot! Don't Lose Your Concentration!" Kuukaku yelled at him.

"Huh?" The simple statement was followed by the crack getting bigger. An explosion rocked the house, and Mei would've beaten sense into the idiot if Kuukaku wasn't already on it. Mei sweatdropped, wasn't that _her _job?

She spent that night thinking about what animal to chose. Being a cat like Yoruichi would be helpful, or a dolphin for when she is in the water. But as she thought about it, she wasn't in the water much, she'd have no use for a dolphin. She wanted something that was dangerous, like a cobra, or skilled, like a bird. _Come to think of it, a bird would be a great choice. I could use it while in Seireitei to look for Rukia from the skies. _Her thoughts strayed to her friend, who, she noted now that her thinking process was clear from worry, was in a very damsel-in-distress situation. _And stupid Ichigo is her knight in shining armor. Why's he get to rescue Rukia anyway?_ Yet Mei knew that he had the best reason out of the entire group to save Rukia, and hers wasn't even a close second. _Back on topic, what type of bird? I'll need to be a bird of prey, so my eyesight is enhanced. Wings need to be strong as well; I'll be flying more than sitting. So what bird has good eyesight, wings stronger than feet, and looks nice? _She pondered for a moment before the most familiar one popped up. _A kite. The answer was simple all along. I'll be a kite, and that way, if I ever decide to spy on someone or something like that, I'll look nice while doing it too. Hahaha, funny; in mythology, the goddess Nephthys takes the form of a kite most often. You get it? _Her thoughts directed to her zanpakuto. _I'll look just like you!_

_Very funny. I see you haven't gotten past the first stage on bankai with me yet._ The voice of her sword rang out in her head clearly.

_I'm getting there. I'm happy that I even reached it on the last day of training with Ururu. It wiped me out, takes up so much energy. Why do you make it that difficult?_

_Blame yourself. I'm a part of your soul, so the techniques I have come from your soul._ Mei scoffed, now wide awake and staring at the ceiling. She turned over and faced the wall, hardly shocked when she saw her zanpakuto sitting there watching her.

_So I indirectly torture myself? Good to know._ The bird's chest heaved in and out, and the sound of its laughter echoed through Mei's head.

_Why are you still going after the girl?_ It finally asked after quieting. Mei kept silent for a moment, and the bird spoke again. _Don't you want to see other zanpakuto like me? Your aunt is not dead; I can sense that her zanpakuto, my sister, is still out there._ Mei's eyebrows shot up, and she heaved a sigh.

_Do you want to go?_ The spirit looked to her like she was stupid.

_I will go where you go, you do not customarily counter a question with a question._ Mei smiled at it, and pet its head softly, it nuzzled at the comforting touch.

_Saving Rukia is more important. If you still sense your sister after this mess is through, we shall go to her. Though I am not curious about my family at all, I do feel the need to know my heritage, as all people should. However, _she paused, and the being cocked its head, _I will not take the throne. No matter what. I want a simple life, that's all I've ever wanted. Nobility is not my thing. _The bird seemed to smile, and it could be heard in its voice.

_I thought the same, that's why I am you, and my sister is your aunt. On the case of right to the throne, that is something that you and your aunt must discuss. Your father did marry a human, after all. You may not be eligible._ Mei smiled, happy the two were eye to eye.

_That is something I would pray for. So a kite it is?_ The bird nodded, then disappeared back into Mei's mind as she closed her eyes.

_That it is._

----- Later, morning

After the incident with Ichigo and Yoruichi's tail, they all had a decent amount of sleep. In the morning all of them hobbled up the stairs, sleepy, but soon to wake up as Yoruichi greeted them in front of the cannon, with Kuukaku by her side.

"Have you thought about what I said?" Kuukaku asked Mei, Yoruichi glancing at her before looking to Mei with curiosity.

"Yep, I'll do a bird. A kite, if you've ever heard of it. It's not very popular, but it's an astounding bird of prey that isn't native to Japan." Kuukaku laughed, and Mei could tell Yoruichi was getting angry. Mei wasn't supposed to know anything, and apparently, Kuukaku hadn't told her that she'd told Mei.

"Funny, you and her chose different things! I really was expecting you to choose a cobra." Mei knew who she was referring to. Who else but her aunt? She seemed to have everything else in common with her. Mei shrugged, and told the truth.

"I can't say I didn't give it serious thought, at first it was going to be. But then I thought about how helpful it would be to be able to roam the skies, see everything. So I chose the most familiar bird to me, a kite." Kuukaku grinned as Yoruichi got an anger tick in the side of her head.

"You two really are alike!" Mei smiled and shrugged at her comment. She didn't know what else to do.

"I guess I can only hope that that's a good thing." Kuukaku looked like she was about to respond, but Ichigo interrupted her.

"Yo! Yoruichi, why is your tail in a zigzag shape all of a sudden?" Mei's jaw dropped, did the guy seriously not remember? She could've slapped her forehead, if it wasn't for the fact that he was the one who forgot.

"You got a problem with that?" Yoruichi asked, voice deadly and cold. She could've killed him. Ichigo tried his best to respond.

"Nope, not at all! It's as pretty as always!" The look she sent him told him not to talk to her, something that Ichigo heeded. Then the topic went to Ganju, and Mei zoned out. She caught something about Kuukaku and Ganju's brother being murdered by a Shinigami, but she wasn't really paying attention. She was soon sent back to reality when Kuukaku started yelling.

"Is everyone ready?! I'm not waiting any longer brats!" Everyone faced forward, and Mei saw that Ganju was coming along. "Let's go!" Then Yoruichi touched the ball when Ichigo asked if she could do it, and much to everyone else's surprise, she could. "Alright everyone! Get inside! I'm going to begin!" A hole was made inside the base of the cannon when Kuukaku knock it with the back of her hand. Everyone was ushered in, and with everyone having a hand on the ball, they were all encased by the canon. Mei could hear the chant going on outside as if it were a whisper.

"Everyone listen, once we get inside, do not separate. If you encounter a captain class enemy, run!" Yoruichi's words shook the group, but also filled them with confidence. "Our objective is to rescue Rukia! Do not take any unnecessary risks!" The sound of yelling outside got everyone's attention, before they were focused by Yoruichi, "It's started! Install your energy!" Everyone poured in their energy, trying to keep as focus as possible.

"Kakaku Style Version Two! Kagizaki!" The blast off was softer than she thought it would be, but they were thrown kilometers into the air.

"The impact wasn't as great as I thought it would be…" Ichigo died off as Gunju scoffed.

"Idiot! It's only just begun." As if on cue, the ball slowed to a stop in the air, then shot off at a rapid rate to Mei's right, tilting the ball so she was on top, and Orihime, who sat across from her, was on bottom. Gunju pulled out a scroll and unfurled it.

"Oi, what are you doing?" Ichigo yelled at him. They were supposed to be working together, not slacking.

"This is the follow up incantation! The version two has a two part incantation! The first decided on direction, and then the follow maintains speed and stability! That way we will land right on target! If you want to walk out of this alive, don't bug me!" At Ichigo's agreement, Gunju started speaking to everyone. "To pass through the barrier safely, the cannonball must be stable! Thus, everyone must achieve a balance in energy discharge! However, I have to focus on the incantation, so I won't be able to focus on my emission! There for, I need everyone to compensate for me! You should be able to detect any change in my emission through the orb, please change accordingly! If we mess up, were screwed! Please be careful!" Everyone nodded, and began to focus on their energy while Ganju recited the incantation.

"Kurosaki-kun you're…" Orihime winced as she began to sweat, "a little strong…"

"Oh, okay." He started to lowers his a bit, but wasn't doing a good job, for Ishida had to step in.

"Kurosaki! Lower!"

"I know! I'm lowering!"

"Ichigo…" This time it was Chad.

"I Know!"

"You Idiot! I read the same line twice!" Ganju screamed at Ichigo.

"Why are you yelling at me?!"

"You kept yapping and I lost my concentration!"

"Ichigo! Ganju! Shut the hell up and focus! This is Not the time!" Mei snapped at them, ready to eat their heads off. The two shrunk back, fearful of the girl.

"What's her problem? The first sentence she says to me and she's yelling…" Ganju whispered to Ichigo, slightly scarred of the venomous teenage girl.

"She's just angry she hasn't seen anyone that fit her interest lately. She probably misses Rukia…" Ganju nodded at Ichigo's brief but accurate diagnosis.

"Everyone, look below us." Chad's voice rang out in the ball.

"It's Seireitei!" Orihime called out, and Mei watched in hardly any interest as they saw from their birds-eye view the many white-wash walls and streets of the city.

"We're going to crash!" Ishida called out as the ball flew ever closer to the barrier.

"It's unavoidable! Everyone, emit as much energy as you can! Make the cannonball as hard as possible!" Yoruichi yelled, adding even more of her own energy. Mei felt Ichigo's energy skyrocket, and she soon did the same.

"COME ON!!!" Ichigo yelled as the cannonball hit the barrier, everyone pushing as much energy in as possible. The ball broke through, and everyone was sent into the air. For a minute, nobody moved, shocked they weren't falling.

"What's going on?" Ichigo asked, voicing Mei's worries. "It hit the shield and disappeared, but how come we're not falling?"

"Everyone, don't separate! The shield was melted by the high concentration of Reikoryoku! This is just temporarily holding us! A tornado will begin soon! If we separate, we'll be sent flying in different directions!" At that moment, Mei decided that there was a god, and that he personally detested people trying to save their friends lives; because at that moment a tornado began, and everyone started panicking. The closest person was Orihime, so Mei went for her, but Chad got their first and tossed her to Ishida. So now that Chad was in Orihime's spot, she grabbed his arm.

"Hold onto me! Don't let go!" She yelled at him, and he wrapped his big hand around her left arm. Mei shot her right hand forward, reaching for Ishida. He copied the gesture, and they had almost reached each other when they were sent flying apart. Or rather, Mei got sent flying back with Chad, and was the first to be sent out.

"Chad! Mei!" The others called their names, but the two were already a hurtling yellow star across the sky. As they got closer to the ground, she saw Chad prepare to blast his way out of impact.

"Hold on!" Mei yelled, and Chad looked at her. "I got this! Nephthys!" Her sword was summoned in her hand. "Protect your charge!" It molded into a giant fan, and Mei swung it open. She pushed it back and forth three quick times before they were less than ten meters away. The ground where they would've landed started getting scratched up horizontally, as if something that had sharp edges blanketed it. As they were about two feet off the ground, their fall stopped. A soft blanket of air swarmed around them, and slowed their fall to the ground. Mei got up and dusted herself off, sheathing her zanpakuto with a "thanks", and then made it disappear. Chad stood up and scanned Mei over, as if judging how strong she was.

"What?" Mei asked, not liking the accusing look he was giving her. She had never had a real conversation with Chad, and she hoped it would last.

"I didn't know you were that strong." Mei shrugged, not impressed with the compliment.

"Eh, I thought it was a relatively weak move, since you could've stopped us too if you wanted, but whatever." Chad nodded. "So, which way are we going? We have to get away from here and find out where Rukia's being held." Down the road she could see the street turned, but to her right, there was a three way. "Let's go this way." She said, motioning to the three way. Chad nodded as Mei led the way in a run, making a left. For most of the time they just ran, avoiding any troupes that were sent out. They soon found a warehouse where they could sit and rest for awhile, and they quickly took the break. So sitting in the ware house, Mei pulled out the scroll Kuukaku gave her, and Chad sat across from her, eating one of the bananas Mei had packed. She wasn't hungry, so she gave it to him.

"So your zanpakuto is a fan?" He asked, trying to sketch out Mei's powers. She sighed as she continued reading.

"Normally I wouldn't tell people this, but since we're stuck together, I think we need to know each other's powers. My zanpakuto has two forms; depending on the name I call it. The one I prefer is the fan; long range is my style fight. But its true shikai is close-range. So even though I like long-range, I'm better at hand-to-hand combat. Funny how I irritate myself so much, ne?" He just nodded, not even smiling. Mei sweatdropped, it was impossible to get a conversation out of him. "So, your powers are?" He tightened his fist, as if emphasizing it.

"I shoot energy out of my arm."

"Ah…" Mei nodded, that was surprisingly fitting. Hearing footsteps coming to the direction of the ware house, Mei and Chad (who was done with the banana) froze.

"Have you checked in here?!" A voice yelled, and Mei counted how many there were. She signed to Chad, showing a one, then shaping her hand like an 'o' then moved both hands into a plus sign. More than ten. He nodded, and stood up. Mei did the same and walked to the wall, placing her ear against it. They were to her left, in front of the door. The commanding officer was yelling at them to be more efficient. She motioned to the door, and Chad nodded. Once he moved in front to the door, he transformed his arm. The bulky mass of muscle was black and had a red stripe going down it with two spikes at the end. He pulled his arm back as if he was going to punch air. The doors started to open, creaking light into the room. Chad released. Mei was astounded, she'd never seen that big of an explosion of power so close before. It was a brilliant blue; the color of most human's spirit energy. And yet, as terrifying the attack was, she saw how it drained him. Too many more of those in one day and he'd start sapping his life force. He walked outside, Mei following. There were still a few left living, but all were unconscious.

"Aw…" She said, drawing it out as she nudged a guy with her foot. "All of them are unconscious. Next time go a little softer, okay? We need information."

"Sorry." His deep voice sounded mellow, and Mei sweatdropped, waving her hand as if to brush it off.

"Don't worry 'bout it! I'm sure we'll get it with the next batch!" As soon as the words left her mouth, she became aware of a presence right behind her, ready to strike. She ducked away, rolling on the ground until she landed on a squat by Chad's feet. He tensed and raised his arm, ready to fight the person who struck at Mei. Mei blinked, unsure of how she dodged that blow, but looked to where she was previously standing. There stood a man with short spiky black hair and three scars going down the right side of his face. Across his left cheek was a blue tattooed line, and below that '69' was inked in. Around his neck was a tattoo of a choker, with a matching one running around his upper bicep. She grinned as she looked the hottie over. "Ne, leave him to me." She called to Chad, who stood ready to strike beside her. He looked at her wearily.

"You sure?" She stood slowly from her squatting position, grin never leaving.

"Yep. It's been a long time since I've seen a guy like that." Said guy furrowed his brows, but remained silent. "What's your name sweet-heart?" His grayish black eyes narrowed at the name, but he answered nonetheless.

"Hisagi Shuhei." If possible, Mei's grinned furthered across her cheeks. Getting the point, Chad almost pitied the guy. Hisagi's grip tightened around the hilt of his sword.

"Mei, remember our objective." He warned and Mei brushed him off.

"I will, I will; just go already. I'll catch up later, and don't get caught." He nodded, and hesitated for a moment before running off. Hisagi disappeared for the slightest of moments to catch Chad before he was stopped by Mei wrapping her arms around his chest, halting his movement toward her friend. She leaned over his shoulder and whispered in his ear, enjoying every second of exploring the hottie's body. "Let's have some fun!" She giggled before he threw her off.


	9. The arms of Death! The Baboon enters!

Mei landed in a hand stand and cart wheeled away. Hisagi turn to face her. "What information are you after? What's your objective?" He interrogated voice harsh and demanding.

"Ya know, I don't think it's a smart idea to tell you." But skimming him over, she came up with an alternative. "How 'bout this? If you win, I'll tell you what you need to know, if I win, you'll do the same for me." He glared at her, not liking the playful tone in her voice.

"So you are a ryoka. I'm sorry, but you won't get past me. You guys should know better than to pick fights with fukutaichos." Mei raised an eyebrow, and Nephthys materialized in her hand.

"You might want to rethink that, Hisagi-fukutaicho." She disappeared from his sight, and when he saw a shadow, he looked up to see Mei holding a giant fan in mid air. She swung it down, and he barely made it away from the blades of wind that was hurled at him. The walls surrounding the area he was standing at were demolished. "Oh, strong and smart. You got out of the complete area of attack when most assume that it's just a slash of wind."

"There's a big difference in level between a fukutaicho and other Shinigami." He informed her.

"Really?" Her voice came from behind him, and he snapped around just in time to see a blurry gust of wind coming at him. "That's nice to know." He jumped, the only escape he could make. But Mei brought the fan backward, sending another attack at him while he was immobilized. He brought up his hands to guard head, and was caught in the torrent of wind. Scrapes and cuts appeared on his arms and cut through the cloth on his chest and legs, leaving many minor wounds as he fell to the ground in a roll.

"Can you answer me a question?" He asked, standing. Mei shrugged.

"I just did, though I suppose if you were to ask another, it would depend on the question."

"Why would you, a human, have a zanpakuto?" She blinked, not expecting the inquiry. After racking her mind, she shrugged.

"Don't know. I guess I was born with it or something. I never really bothered asking questions like 'why' very much as a kid. All I know is that I have one. Why don't you release yours? It'll be easier to fight me." He shook his head.

"Not unless it's absolutely necessary for defeating you." Mei's brows knitted in confusion.

"Alright, your death bed sweet-heart." With that, she launched another round of attacks, keeping him mainly on the defensive side for awhile. But as if he had a sudden change of heart, he lunged at her while she was open from her last attack. She swung her body back, unable to block. Stumbling backwards, she felt the sword rip open her shirt and enter her skin. Without waiting an instant more, she got her feet flat on the ground and shunpoed behind him a good five meters. She brought her hand up to examine the wound. It went from her left shoulder and almost reached her right breast. She 'tch'ed, not liking the fact that her shirt was ripped open, even though the wound itself wasn't more than a scratch.

"Jeez Shuhei-kun, I didn't take you for the forceful type." She saw his left eye twitch.

"It's Hisagi to you." She grinned, deciding to play with him a bit more before she got serious.

"No thank-you, I like Shuhei-kun better." He scowled at her antics, but went back on the offensive with a series of attacks. Mei dodged most of them, but the few that she couldn't she brought up her fan to block. Noting that he was starting to get serious as well, for his attacks were getting harsher, Mei somersaulted back, avoiding a thrust to the stomach. His frown deepened.

"I guess I will have to use it then." Not waiting for him to do anything, Mei sent another attack. He jumped to dodge it, and released his sword. "Reap, Kazeshini!" His sword transformed into two double-bladed scythes, attached by a chain. He sent one flying towards Mei's left and she ducked to dodge it. Seeing a gleam from her right, she got on the ground and rolled away from it. The blade had almost scalped her, but she had avoided the blow so that only a deep cut ran down her cheek. Her grip on her zanpakuto tightened as she pulled herself up off the ground, sending a glare to her opponent. She full-out scowled as she wiped the blood from off of her cheek. She didn't like that, not one bit. Then her scowl turned into a smirk as a gleam entered her eyes.

"Ya know, it just might have been better for you to keep it in its dormant form. I don't like fighting, but when someone scratches my face, I can't help but enjoy myself as I kick their ass." Mei sent Nephthys into its dormant form, a plain katana. It was necessary for what she was about to do. She saw his scolding look turn into one of shock, what did she think she was doing? With her arms straight out in front of her Mei held out her zanpakuto to her right, palm of her hand up. Turning her wrist as she swung it in a semi-circle, the blunt back of the blade hit her left wrist.

"Your charge calls, Nebt-Het."

The blade turned a deep black, starting at the tip, and eventually sinking into the hilt. As soon as it reached the other end, the tip of blade started to disintegrate and the dust settled in a line at her feet. She disappeared. Hisagi blinked, before he sensed someone behind him. Mei punched his back and Hisagi, not having time to dodge, was sent flying through the roof of the warehouse Mei and Chad had rested in earlier. Having to wait for her opponent was short lived, as Hisagi got out and stood on the roof soon enough. He glowered at her, not liking the predicament he was in. Just when he switches from close combat to long range, she does the opposite. He looked around out of his peripheral vision, where was her fan? Or the dust? It was all gone. Mei moved into a fighting position, already comfortable with the edge this fight had taken on. She grinned, and he moved back into his own fighting position. As if commencing the fight to start, he swung his scythe to her left, figuring that if she dodged, she'd be open, she didn't move at all. Instead, a skeleton arm shot out of her shoulder blade, catching the blade in its bony grip.

"What the he-" Mei didn't give him time to react. With her to real arms, she grabbed the chain attached to the scythe and yanked, bringing him forward to her as she drew back a fist. Preparing himself, he brought his other blade back, the two released their attacks at once. Hisagi flew back as Mei gripped her right shoulder. Blood seeped into her hand, she didn't know how deep the wound was, but she knew that it hurt like hell, so that knowledge accounted for something. A crashing sound showed that Hisagi, along with his zanpakuto, had finally hit the ground thirty or so meters away. She jumped from the air she was standing on (by gathering Spirit Particles under her feet, a nifty trick she had picked up from Yoruichi) and landed on solid ground. She grit her teeth as she clutched her shoulder, walking over to where Hisagi was. Smoke, dirt, and debris covered the air where he landed, and Mei patiently waited for it to clear. She heard coughing, and the reason stood right before her. Hisagi clutched his lower left abdomen area, in the other hand his scythe. Once he was done with his coughing fit, he wiped the blood off his chin, something Mei hadn't noticed before. Her eyes narrowed as another skeletal arm shot out of her right shoulder blade, and Mei moved into a rather odd looking fighting position, with three arms up and the other one slumped against her body. She mentally cursed; he had rendered her right arm completely useless. She watched as he drew in bated breath, and she could hear his breathing was getting hard as he moved into his position. Both being wounded to an extreme, they exchanged looks when the sound of running feet came from their right, behind a wall. There was the sound of two men talking, then laughter. Mei blinked, why did that voice sound familiar? Shrugging it off, she went back to her fight, just in time to see Hisagi preparing for another attack. She charged ducking off to her left when the attack came. He turned as she did, and seeing that she was too close to retaliate, he brought up his arms to block her attack. She punched with her left human arm, sending him flying through the wall, and crashing into the one behind it. She ran through the hole, not planning on giving him time for another attack, when the scene before her caught her attention. To her right was a bunch of Shinigami, shocked out of their laughter from the vice-captain that had flown right before their eyes, and to her left was her saving grace. Ichigo and Ganju stood there, holding some kid hostage.

"Ichigo! Ganju!" She exclaimed, running up to them.

"Mei! What the hell happened to you?!" Ichigo exclaimed, shocked half to death from the two grim-reaper looking arms that sprouted from her shoulder blades, and the way her left arm clutched her right shoulder, along with the other multiple wounds she had marked up in her fight.

"Not the point, we need to get out of here. Now." The look in her eyes told him she wasn't playing around, and she saw that the Shinigami were starting to snap out of it and go to the vice-captain's aid. Or draw their swords in preparation to attack the newcomer. The kid was shoved into Ganju's arms, and Mei felt her world go topsy turvy for a minute before she realized what happened. She was being carried bridal style by Ichigo, who was running like hell on wheels with Ganju and the kid behind him. Shock shook her for a moment before she got her bearings. "What the hell?! Ichigo?! I can run myself!" She started squirming, not liking the damsel in distress moment she was in. He completely ignored her until she kicked his head, and then he only gained a anger vein. "I said let me go!" His eye twitched.

"Like hell you can run for yourself! If I had a mirror, I would show you how bad you look right now! But I don't! So just stay still and let me carry you!" Mei really would've thought this romantic if it weren't for the fact that his arm wrapped underneath her shoulders, causing the one that was ripped to rear in pain. So the little girl inside Mei's heart that would've been swooning in joy was about to smash something, preferably a namely strawberries face. Mei gritted her teeth and held it in, trying her best not to wince in pain every time he took an unbalanced step. Jeez, hadn't the guy ever taken a manners class before? Every step he took was clumsy, not refined at all. She stopped her train of thought at that point, almost angry at herself for thinking such stuck up thoughts. Finally their trek came to a stop, and Mei looked around to see them at the end of a hall, a four-way just a while back. Footsteps echoed from two other halls that led into the one they were at. "Damn it, which way do we go?! We can't fight like this!" Mei spotted the answer to Ichigo's question. One of her undead arms lifted to point at the area in front of them, and Ganju noticed before anyone else.

"The warehouse! Perfect!" He hastily opened up the entrance, and motioned for the others to get in. Within no time they were in, Mei squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth in pain. Her shoulder felt like it was torn in two, now that the adrenaline had worn off. She sat, leaning against the wall, to her left Ichigo, in front of him Ganju, and in front of Mei the kid (whose name she'd yet to learn). "Oi, Mei, you okay?" Ganju asked pitifully. Her eyes shot open to glare at him, she would've hit him if it weren't for the fact that her only open hand was clutching her shoulder (she had dismissed her zanpakuto as soon as she sat down).

"_Do I look okay_?" She ground out, and the kid glanced to her worriedly.

"Uh, um, I can help… if you want me to…" He stammered and looked down, Mei looked to him with hard eyes. Could she really trust him? She inwardly sighed, seeing no choice in the matter. Her meager healing skills could do nothing for this wound.

"If you're a healer, please do." She asked, and he nodded as she came and sat to her right. Ichigo and Ganju watched in interest as he began to heal Mei's shoulder. "How bad is it?" She asked left hand clutching her ankle to keep from cracking her teeth.

"Y-you shouldn't use it for a couple of days…" Mei eyes darkened, hating that conclusion to the core.

"How much can you heal?" She looked over her good shoulder at him. He gulped and looked down.

"I should be able to heal all of it, but it'll take awhile. If I completely finish this though, I probably won't have enough energy for the cut on your chest of face, so I'll apply medicine to those. I'm sorry I'm so-" She cut him off, not liking where he was going with the conversation.

"Hun, if you were useless, you wouldn't be alive right now. So please do your best." He nodded and focused on his work. Ichigo looked at the kid curiously.

"What's your name?" He asked, wary of his intentions. Mei was starting to like the kid, he numbed her while healing. He looked startled at the question, but answered nonetheless.

"My name is Yamada Hanatarou." He gave a slight bow with his head. Both of the guys in the room complained that it was hard to remember. Ganju pulled out a piece of paper and laid it in between the three of them. Mei sweatdropped, it had no roads at all. A realization Ichigo was soon to point out.

"So we know Rukia's in the 'White Tower', but which road should we take to get there? I really don't want to run into any captains…"Mei sweatdropped. Like hell they even knew where roads were, much less which one to take.

"Rukia..." Hanatarou pondered aloud.

"Be quiet! We're strategizing! Don't interrupt!" Ichigo told him, something Ganju was quick to agree with.

"Yeah, you can leave when you're done." Mei's eye twitched.

"Shut up you two! Hanatarou's sweet! He's healing my shoulder! You two should be grateful we've got a healer with us!" She was just about to continue her lecture when said person she was defending spoke up.

"When you said Rukia… did you mean Kuchiki Rukia?" Mei's head swiveled around to watch him. He had dark eyes and shaggy dark hair, not much of a threat at all. But how did he know Rukia? All of the attention in the room was on him. "I see… So I was right. Kuchiki-taicho's sister is being held for a capital crime. So then, the white tower you were talking about is Senzaikyuu." His eyes drooped to the floor, as if questioning his confidence, before returning to Ichigo. "Then, I know of a shortcut to that tower…"

After Hanatarou was done healing, Mei started to feel her eyes droop. Without much energy left, she fell into sleep's hold. She didn't dream, but felt things around her. Perfect black bliss, something warm beneath her. Then the sudden, sweet sensation of falling. Her head hit something hard, her eyes jerked awake, dizzied by the sudden impact her brain had with the back of her skull.

"Oi! Mei! We're going back up to the surface! Get up!" Ichigo's voice prodded. Mei raised a hand to press it to her head, a futile attempt at stopping her spinning vision. She groaned, why were there so many lights? Something orange bobbed over her head, and her eyes eventually blinked into stillness.

"Huh?" Her inarticulate question was answered with a scowl from the strawberry.

"I said get up! We're goin' back onto the surface!" Mei looked around, since when were they not on the surface? The water stream beside her answered her questions, they had taken the sewers as an alternative route. She tried to push herself off the ground, accidentally putting pressure on her right arm.

"Holy!" Mei immediately jerked all weight off her arm. Dear God, that burned like hell. She winced as she massaged the bandaged- hold up. Her brain stopped temporarily, why was her shoulder bandaged? She looked at the wound, the bandages went all the way around her chest, and halfway down her bicep. She felt her eye twitch. _Who _the _hell_ undressed her? Her brain mentally ticked off who it could or couldn't be. Ichigo was too inexperienced to even know how to undress a lady. Ganju didn't strike her as that type of guy, but he was far too scared of her anger as well. That left Hanatarou. _I knew that guy had a dark side! _The paranoid part of her screamed inside her head. She heaved a sigh, concealing her anger. The guy had every need to do it; she just didn't like the fact that she was asleep when he did it. After all, a poor, sleeping, vulnerable girl in a room full of guys? Not an idea she liked. She took a few breaths to calm herself, in which time Ichigo had made it halfway up the ladder.

"Come on!" He yelled down to her, noticing she wasn't at the bottom of the ladder yet.

"I'm comin'!" She snapped back, making her way to and up the ladder. They had come out into a wide open area, with a small building to their right. In front of them, a ways back, stood a giant cliff face, to steep to climb. Going up into the cliff were stairs, at the base of which was a cloud of either smoke or fog, Mei couldn't tell. The smoke began to clear as Mei dusted herself off. Then, sensing an extremely familiar reiryoku, she snapped her head in the direction of where it was coming from. She, along with Ichigo, stood stock still as they stared patiently into the mass. There stood an all too familiar red head. She had never seen his face, just the back of his head, but his hair color was all too familiar. Tattoos lined his forehead, goggles in place over his eyes.

"Long time no see…" The figure began, lifting up his goggles to reveal sharp brown eyes and a wary look. "Remember my face?"


	10. The plea! Guilty of love? Maybe

**I Am SSOOOOOO Sorry!!!! I've been so busy, I can't even begin to explain. But literally, the ONLY day I have off is Wednesday, and I do chores all day then so I've been squeezing this in for thirty minutes each day. Which isn't a lot, mind you. But alas, I have a pole up on my profile for all of the users who want to vote on the stories pairing. The choices are RukiaxMei or RenjixMei. The results shall be read at the end of September, and I'll write a tid-bit of the pairing (like the V-Day Special) that is in the lead so far. However, on January 1****st****, 2010, I shall close the poll and write up who won. However, since only users can vote in the poll, I will still count the reviews for the story as votes. So far it's 2-1, Rukia's favor. Vote now or forever hold your peace! Anyways, do have fun with the chapter, please. As I'm sure we all believe it's a hilarious thing to see Mei covered in slime. I'll try to draw up a picture of her, y the way, but I suck at drawing, so feel free to draw something up and send it to me so I can see!**

**Disclaimer: I own Mei and all my OCs, the plot, the polymorphism technique, blah blah blah, so on and so forth. I own nothing beyond that, though.**

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"Long time no see…" The figure began, lifting up his goggles to reveal sharp brown eyes and a wary look. "Remember my face?" The connection between the two was obviously one of anger and impatience. Ichigo stood, an aura of danger floating around him.

"Abarai Renji." Ichigo didn't hiss or spit the name, something, Mei noted, she would've done.

"That's unexpected, you even remember my name." The figure spoke as he walked down the few remaining stairs before him. "You have a pretty good memory."

"Thanks for the compliment." Ichigo returned, though it was clear to all that neither had meant their words.

"Who… who is this guy? Compared to the ones we've met before, he has a totally different spirit pressure…" The sound of Ganju's voice was shaky, though Hanatarou's was completely terrified.

"That… that person is… Abarai Renji… vice-captain of the sixth division!"

"Vice-Captain?!" Ganju looked to Hanatarou in a mix of shock and fear.

"I'm really surprised, I had always thought you were killed by Kuchiki-taicho's attack." Abarai walked forward, Ichigo soon to copy the movement.

"Ah, oi! Don't go, Ichigo!" Ganju called, reaching for Ichigo.

"No, Ganju." Mei shoved her left arm out to stop him. He looked to her in a mixture of shock and outrage. "As much as I'd like to fight him, it's Ichigo's battle. Let him be." Ganju stayed silent, but watched fearfully as the two opponents kept their sport up.

"I don't know how you survived, but it's very impressive. Worth complimenting." He drew his zanpakuto. "However, it's all over now. I've said this before, I will kill the one who stole Rukia's power. If you're still alive, then her power cannot be restored." Ichigo reached for his zanpakuto as well, and they both rushed each other.

"Back then, didn't you want to take her away to kill her?! What's the point of saying that now?!" Ichigo sped into a full out run, Zangetsu raised for attack. Abarai stood his ground, moving into a fighting position with his own zanpakuto. "I must keep moving forward!"

"That will depend on if you can defeat me or not! Come, if you have the guts! Don't you like to risk your life?!" Their swords met in a clash, the tone of metal on metal rang out in Mei's ears. At that point, Mei zoned Ganju and Hanatarou out, focusing instead on the fight. They kept clashing, again and again, until Ichigo snapped at something Abarai had said. "Roar, Zabimaru!" Abarai seemed to be angry at what Ichigo said, because his zanpakuto went into its shikai form, a sword that lengthened like a whip, and was made up of many tooth-like square blades. Abarai thrust it at Ichigo. Mei, seeing how it was going to end, grabbed Hanatarou, who was closest to the small building to their right, and yanked him out of the way just in time. He yelped, but was silenced when Ichigo's body crashed through the building. The fighting was continued from there as Mei watched with worry. She had almost lost Ichigo once, she didn't want it to happen again. She clutched her arms to her to prevent herself from going to his aid. Ichigo charged Abarai, dodging his attacks. When he swung down, timing perfect, Abarai dodged and slashed at Ichigo, cutting deep into him. Mei's breath was caught in her throat, and she had to cover her mouth to stop the chocked cry that would've escaped. But as Mei's feet stay frozen into the ground, Abarai's sword swung down upon Ichigo.

Mei's heartbeat echoed in her ears. She could feel her blood run cold, and her eyes start to water. Her whole body felt like it was going to break, the misery she felt was all-empowering.

Yet she didn't allow herself to scream. Her eyes widened with terror, and it seemed like time had slowed. But just as the sword was going to hit him, Ichigo's hand shot up and grabbed the blade. Within an instant, her whole world seemed to crash down, back to normal. Ichigo slashed at Abarai, light blue energy streaming out of the tip, and cutting into Abarai's own body. The attack shattered his goggles, sending back his fiery red hair into the air. He stood still, and Mei could tell he was in a moment of completely overwhelming anger and sadness. He started to speak something, but Mei only caught the last of it.

"Damn… I really am a tramp down to my bones… I hate myself." He grinned as if he had found humor in some sort of irony. "I bark at the star but I don't have the courage to jump and grab it." Something entered his eyes. Mei wasn't sure what, but whatever it was shocked her down to the core. He stumbled forward suddenly and grabbed Ichigo's collar. "I never once won against Kuchiki-taicho… ever since Rukia left… I train everyday but I still failed… he is too strong." His fist started to shake. "Fighting to get Rukia back… is nothing but an impossible dream to me…" Mei started to catch on to his drift. "Kurosaki, I'm probably shameless for doing this, but I have to ask you! Please!" The man was starting to beg, Mei noticed with pity. "You have to save Rukia!" Ichigo's eyes saddened, as if some understanding of the man's motives ran through him.

"…Yeah…" Abarai fell, with Ichigo standing for a moment more before doing the same action. All three rushed over, Ganju screaming Ichigo's name, Hanatarou in a state of shock, and Mei with a sort of serene calmness about her. She'd kick his butt later, she decided, but for now his life came first. Her eyes widened as Ganju began to pick up the body of their friend, some energies were approaching fast.

"Hurry up! People are coming! Hanatarou, do you think the sewers are still empty?!" He nodded, and with Ganju dragging Ichigo, the went back to the sewers entrance. Mei slung the door open, ushering in Hanatarou, and holding Ichigo while Ganju started his decent. The footsteps were getting closer, they were just around the corner. "Ganju!" Mei yelled, getting his attention, he was almost to the bottom already. "Catch!" She threw Ichigo's unconscious body down the hole, and in one quick motion, slipped in while shutting the door behind herself. She fell through the air, and realizing that nobody had their hands free to catch her; she twisted her body sharply to land in the sewer water. A giant splash sounded almost in exact time as when the yelling started to come from above. Mei sunk into the disgusting liquid, sneering at its discoloration and slimy feel. She shot herself up once her toes touched bottom, coming to the surface while gasping for air. Ganju propped Ichigo up against the wall, extending a hand for Mei as she swam closer. She gratefully took the offer as she was hoisted up, coughing for a full breath of air.

"Are you-" Ganju began, but was cut off by Mei's hand over his mouth. She pointed a finger up to the entrance and he jerked back, not liking the feel of the liquid on his face. Nodding, he gathered up Ichigo as Mei stood, smiling to Hanatarou who was giving her a fearful look. She shoved her thumb to motion to the sidewalk they had. He nodded and led the way to a safer place. They went until they found a room where Hanatarou could heal Ichigo in peace. In fact, it was a series of rooms. So while Ichigo, Ganju, and Hanatarou went into one, Mei headed for the one beside it. "Oi, where are you going?" Ganju asked, watching Mei's back as she walked.

"To find a place to change. Unlike you, I'm covered head to toe in sewer junk." She turned to her left, entering the wide and empty room. There, before anything else, she checked to see if the clothes in her bag were still dry. Thankfully, they were. Mei sighed, not liking the fact that the outfit had to be used so soon into their time here. The day she had called Orihime, she had told her to bring the kimono's to Soul Society as spare outfits. Thankfully, they had planned ahead. Sadly, she had to use the kimono so early, she was certain it was only going to get dirtier than her other clothes. But Mei would rather have wasted money than to remain in the disgusting outfit she was in now, so as she changed, she let her hair down. It wouldn't be good to get it all tangled up while it was in a ponytail. She changed without a problem, feeling happier already that her clothes were no longer clinging to her body. Mei hated being wet. Detested it, in fact. She much preferred being dry, with the exception of showers or baths. Her hair fell down to her back, scrunching up from the waves the moisture had produced in it. She frowned, having forgot a brush or comb. She pulled it over one shoulder, her nose scrunching up from the putrid smell the sewers had put into it. _Dear God_, Mei thought in disgust, _I bet I smell terrible. I need a shower!_ Mei's frown turned into a content expression when she heard the sound of Ichigo's voice, then a thud. Turning her old clothes inside out, she shoved them into her bag. Zipping it up and slinging it over her shoulders, she headed into the room where the others were. She walked up behind Ganju, who hadn't seemed to notice her, as he explained his reasoning for whatever he did.

"Shut up! At least I stopped him! Do you have a problem with how I do things?" He asked Hanatarou harshly, who had stopped dragging Ichigo's body over to the area he wanted to stare at Mei. She raised an eyebrow at the situation, so that's what the thud was for. Ganju knocked Ichigo out to stop said Strawberry's escape.

"Ah, I get what's going on now. Good job Ganju, I see that I can trust you with the welfare of our Strawberry friend. But stop bullying Hanatarou, okay? He's done nothing to you." She walked past him and around to Ichigo's side. "Is he going to be okay?" Her question seemed to jerk Hanatarou out of his daze, but he stumbled on his words.

"Uh, yes! H-he his wound wasn't as harsh as I had first thought." That was when Mei caught sight of the mask by Ichigo's side. Her eyes widened, then dangerously narrowed. Her uncle must be planning something. He never did anything without a cause, so what was the cause for the mask? Mei, for once in her life, decided she didn't want to know. She sighed as she leaned back, lazily running her fingers through her hair. It wasn't thin, but it wasn't thick. She frowned at the thought. She was plain and ordinary, that was all she ever was. So why was she cursed to be a princess? She had to admit she was curious about her heritage, but what she wanted was far from what she got. Disliking the topic of her thoughts, she moved on to the scroll in her bag. Getting it out, she began to study the words written down, content with the situation now that Ichigo was safely in Hanatarou's hands. She'd seen enough of the guy by now to know who's side he was on. She started up from where she had left off earlier.

_All of these are the following side effects of polymorphism:_

_A Deep Toned Voice (Both genders have this problem, it is most often used to the advantage of a female spy)._

_Eventual relation to the chosen animal (Those who chose cat will see better in the dark, dogs better hearing, monkeys increased strength or stamina, so on and so forth.)_

_Addiction to the ecstasies of the animal (Catnip) while in animal form._

_Beware of the consequences or animal form, as some lose themselves in the transformation, and become the animal._

_But moving onto the transformation itself, it's relatively simple. Picture yourself in your mind, then the chosen animal inside of you, and slowly shrink yourself or enlarge the animal until you are the one inside of it. Complete relaxation is needed at first, as it is hard to focus. Meditation helps with the process. When you turn into the animal, your clothing will be not be affected by the process. Hence why transformation back is nude, and usually done in the utmost privacy. To reverse back, simply reverse the process you went through to get into the animal form, and you shall change back. Complete focus is needed for this, too. Never try too… _Darkness surrounded her once more.

----- Later, the next morning

A light snoring and the sound of shuffling woke Mei up slowly from her deep sleep. She groaned softly, she was having the best dream. Rukia had- the thought jerked her awake as she remember where she was and why she was there. She sat up suddenly as orange spiky hair came back into her sight. Ichigo leaned against the wall, Zangestu at his side. He raised an eyebrow at her, why she did now know.

"So he finished up healing your shoulder too." Mei blinked and looked down at her slightly dirty kimono. Dust and dirt covered it while she had been sleeping. She sighed, realizing what had happened. Hanatarou had to knock her out again so he could heal her. Did he not have a way to heal when the patient was awake? Or was it too painful? That was probably it, she decided.

"Stop standing there and help me up." She commanded, reaching out her right hand to him. He nodded and took it, pulling her up. Mei's muscles felt sore and tired, nothing that couldn't be worked out after awhile of running. "Thanks." He nodded, then grabbed Zangetsu and attached it to his back.

"Was he alive still when we left?" Ichigo asked her, Mei swore she had heard a hint of concern in his voice. Mei nodded, feeling through her hair to make sure it was dry before she put it up. He just nodded as well, looking down and going into deep thought. She studied him for a moment, pondering what he was thinking about. "Do you think he-" Ichigo started suddenly before Mei interrupted him.

"Yes. I think he meant it." She looked to the floor, thoughts on her goddess as Ichigo nodded again. A curious thought struck her for a moment, and she pondered how Ichigo would react. Mei decided she'd give it a try. "Hey, if I tell you a secret, will you answer my question?" He looked up at her, an eyebrow raised.

"I'm not sure if I should, it could be dangerous or dirty, whichever you're in the mood for right now." Mei gave him a sarcastic look.

"Haha, very funny. Just do it." He shrugged with an 'okay'.

"I'm a princess." Laughter was his first reaction, but as his body shook and he bent over clutching his stomach, he caught sight of Mei's serious face. He eventually quieted down, realizing that his laughter was not meant to happen.

"Right, um, how?" She shrugged.

"My dad was some to-be head of some noble house that used to rule here in Soul Society." He just nodded awkwardly, disliking the oddness of this revelation. His eyes got curious however, when Mei started to speak: "Do you love Rukia?"

He was stunned into silence. Him and… Rukia? Mei felt her heart pound when she saw his expression. Shock and confusion. She had hit the nail on the head. Nodding, she stiffly walked out of the room to leave him to his thoughts.

"W-wait! You don't just ask that then leave! I never answered! And what was with that expression?!" He yelled, realizing she had it all wrong. He sped out of the room to see her nudging at Ganjyu gently with her foot, ignoring him.

"It's fine if you do, it doesn't mean anything really. It's just a question." He grabbed her arm by the elbow and swung her around to face him.

"Like hell it's 'just a question'! And you don't just ask that sort of thing when someone's not expecting it! Kami, Mei! How the hell'd you get that in your head?" She looked him in the eyes with a tough expression. So he didn't? But his reaction clearly showed he did. So which was it? Her face betrayed none of her thoughts.

"Your actions betray your words, I don't know which to go by." His face fell, and they began to stare each other down. Mei was just about to slap him to make him let go of her when a voice interrupted her actions.

"What's going on?" Ganjyu asked before he looked down to his lap. "EH?! Drool!" His attention switched to Hanatarou "Why the hell are you drooling on my leg?! Ah! You drooled all over my only set of clothes!" He stood up suddenly, knocking the still sleeping Hanatarou onto the floor. When Mei moved to go check and see if he was okay, Ichigo promptly let go of her arm. But not before they shared a look saying 'We'll finish this later'.

"He's too tired, a little drool is no big deal." Ichigo spoke to Ganjyu ask Mei crouched down beside Hanatarou.

"I-Ichigo! You're awake! Are you… okay?" Ganjyu spoke hesitantly spoke after he got over the initial shock. Ichigo smiled at him.

"Yeah, thanks to him. You should be good, too. Hanatarou went to heal your wounds after he got done with mine and Mei's." Ganjyu looked over his shoulder at where Mei was loading Hanatarou onto her back carefully. He then walked over and took Hanatarou onto his from Mei, who thanked him. "We have to make it this time." Ichigo spoke, gathering the two's attention.

"Let's go, to the Senzaikyuu!"


	11. Decisions! A Promise to Keep!

**Disclaimer: I own Mei, the polymorphism, and a few other OCs that will be coming up a ways away. Other than that though, nothing.**

****

"Good, there's nobody here." Mei said as she pulled herself out of the sewers.

"A fight took place here yesterday and they didn't assign anyone to guard this area? Weird…" Ichigo said as he got out and stood beside Mei, who had pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, and had loosened her kimono so that she could run.

"Maybe they think that the enemy won't appear in the same place twice, so soon?" Ganjyu asked as he climbed out of the hole, Hanatarou following him. Both Ichigo and Mei shrugged.

"Maybe." The two answered in unison. They cast each other a glance, eyes meting for a split second, then turned their eyes to Ganjyu as he spoke.

"Oi, what do you think the others are doing? The glasses guy and the cutie with orange hair?" A tick appeared on the side of Mei's head, and she rolled up her right sleeve. Huffing as her eyes were shaded by her bangs, she quickly paced over to Ganjyu's side. He blinked, seeing nothing, but feeling an ominous presence of evil. He caught site of the black aura of evil radiating off of Mei's body, but was too slow. A fist rammed down upon him multiple times, blacking an eye, busting a lip, and giving him a tower of bumps on his head. Hanatarou looked at the scene pathetically, more work for him later on.

"It's Inoue to _you_." Mei grit as her aura flared. "_Got it_?" Ganjyu nodded furiously, and Mei dropped her fist and smiled at him, aura dissipating. "Great, let's keep it that way."

Ichigo shook his head at Mei, before taking over the conversation. "You mean Inoue and Ishida, right? Both of them are 100 times smarter than me. They will avoid any fight they aren't confident of winning, so there's no need to worry. They'll be fine."

Ganjyu paused, thinking for a moment, before her spoke again. "What about that other guy? Chad?" Mei smirked as Ichigo turned to look at the stairs.

"Even less need to worry."

"What? We don't even know if he's alive…" Ganjyu protested.

"Of course he is; I can feel it. His spiritual pressure, I've felt it ever since we landed in this city. Plus, it's completely unimaginable that Chad would ever lose to anyone." With that, they headed up the stairs. On both sides the cliff hung above their heads, brown walls blocking their view, leading up. After awhile, they came to an area where a street led on, surrounded on both sides by white buildings. They ran on, with Ichigo in the lead, Ganjyu and Hanatarou following, and Mei bringing up the back. A weight suddenly fell upon her shoulders, knocking her breath out of her lungs, and instantly triggering fear. She immediately recognized the feeling of immense spiritual pressure. It was affecting the others the same way. Ichigo seemed to be the only one willing to voice his fears, because even though Mei could hear his voice, it seemed fuzzy in her head. Her breath came in gasps, and the pressure on her lungs didn't let up. Sweat broke out on her face, and dizziness soon invaded her head. Soon Ganjyu said something, and Hanatarou made some sort of noise Mei couldn't make out. Ichigo's commanding yell broke her out of her trance of fear.

"Run! I can't figure out what's going on, but I'm sure someone strong is nearby! Before they find us, let's run as far as we can!" The image of Rukia appeared in Mei's head, and seriousness took over. She was hardly aware of nodding, but she pumped her legs harder than she had in a long while. She didn't struggle to keep up with the others, because soon enough she had taken Ganjyu's place behind Ichigo, as Hanatarou was really struggling to even move. Mei glanced back at the young Shinigami (even though he was older than her) in worry. Looking forward, she focused on keeping up with Ichigo. Hanatarou was panting soon enough, and he collapsed weakly onto the ground. Mei stopped as she heard the expected *thud*, and watched him scramble to his knees as the other's came to a halt as well.

"Hanatarou!" Ganjyu yelled, as he ran back for him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"S-sorry, I'm out of energy…" Ganjyu gritted his teeth as he grabbed one of the Shinigami's wrists and one of his ankles.

"You're really a troublesome guy!" He huffed as he threw Hanatarou across his shoulders. Hanatarou gave a yell of shock, but was soon quieted as everyone started running again, hardly thinking about his collapse. Mei soon became aware of something watching them, and it felt like death waited just over her shoulder, its scythe perched high and ready to swing.

Ichigo came to a sudden stop, and turned to look at the roof of a certain building. Mei paused as she came upon him, and followed his eyes to the figure perched upon the roof. Her eyes widened in fear at the first thing she caught sight of: the white haori of a captain. It was torn, ripped, and frayed at the edges, the rough look went well with the psychotic grinned that carved itself upon the guy's face. An eye patch over the right eye only added to the fear instilled into her heart from the look of this man. The only thing that softened his appearance were the bells that hung from each tip of his spiky hair, and that only scared her more. Before she could blink, he disappeared. Ichigo gasped, grasping his chest. She looked to him, catching sight of something large out of the corner of her eye. She whirled her head around, and stumbled back a few steps as she saw who was there. The captain from earlier, he had moved behind Ichigo so quickly Mei didn't even notice he was there.

"Are you Kurosaki Ichigo?" The captain spoke gruffly. Ichigo looked over his shoulder at him.

"How do you know my name?! Who are you?!" The panic in his voice was matched by a calm sort from the other.

"Oh? Didn't Ikkaku tell you about me?" Ichigo whirled around in time to catch the other part of what he said. "I am Captain of the eleventh division, Kenpachi Zaraki. I have come here to kill you." The whole group was frozen in fear. _Eleventh division was the strongest of all the squads_, Mei remembered clearly Yoruichi mentioning it to her once, _they are bloodthirsty fighters, and they love a fight to the death_. Kenpachi's voice brought her back from her thoughts: So? I told you that I'm here to kill you. You haven't said anything in response; does that mean you're ready to start now?"

Ichigo grabbed Zangetsu by the hilt, before a thud brought both of their attentions to Ganjyu and Hanatarou. Ganjyu had taken a knee from the force of the spirit pressure, and Hanatarou was on his belly, face flat on the ground as his sweat poured from every inch of his body and drool seeped from his mouth.

"Ganjyu, Hanatarou!" He exclaimed, hesitating at the hilt of his sword as he looked over at his friends.

"Hanatarou!" Mei's eyes widened with fear for him as she shunpoed over to his body. She started to help him onto his back when her attention went to Ganjyu, who although his face was caked with sweat too, was able to speak under the pressure.

"Don't be stupid Ichigo, Hanatarou and I are just a little stunned by the pressure…" Mei would've rolled her eyes at his cool guy act if she wasn't so worried that he shouldn't be talking but reserving his strength. "We'll be fine, stop worrying about us and look in front of you. If you don't, you'll get beaten in an instant." Ichigo had just muttered Ganjyu's name when a happy, buoyant voice thundered into their heads.

"OH! He's drooling!" A little girl with pink hair and large brown eyes appeared over Kenpachi's right shoulder, pushing his head out of the way. She disappeared quickly, only to appear standing on her tip toes on Ichigo's left shoulder. She held her hand over her eyes to see farther in the bright sun. "Waa! Ken-chan really scared him! Poor thing!" Ichigo pushed her off by flinging his shoulder back. She hopped backwards and landed in front of Kenpachi.

"He got angry..." She half whimpered half mumbled as she put a finger to her mouth and drew her eyebrows together in sadness.

"Idiot, it's your fault." Kenpachi deadpanned as she pouted. Ichigo slung Zangetsu over his shoulder, pointing it at Kenpachi. Panic laced his expression as his sweat beaded down his body.

"Ganjyu!" He yelled, as if trying to get past the heaviness in their heads. "Take Hanatarou and get out of here! I'll try to stop this guy! Mei-" Her heart thudded, this might be the last time he ever talks to her again. "Go and save Rukia!"

"But- by yourself?!" Mei held a hand out in front of him to shut him up, but it seemed Ichigo had the same idea.

"Shut up! Just go!" Ichigo snapped back. Ganjyu looked up at Mei, as if asking if it was okay. Mei stood there, debating whether or not to stay and help him, or to go and do the job she came here for. All Ganjyu saw of this debate was the fear that stretched her eyes wide, before they eventually grew shaded and her lips tucked into a tight line. She nodded, and in the calmest voice she could muster, spoke.

"Ganjyu, pick up Hanatarou and let's get the hell out of here."

"Alright then…" Ganjyu said as he did what he was told. He darted past all of them with Hanatarou on his back. Mei walked up beside Ichigo.

"You don't have to worry, I'll make sure she's okay. Good luck." He nodded, looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

"You too." Hearing that, she turned and ran past all of them, quickly catching up with Ganjyu and Hanatarou.

They had just gotten out of Kenpachi's spirit pressure when Mei 's sigh of relief got caught in her throat. A huge rumble and then a giant crash pervaded the air, then another, and another. Buildings in the direction from whence they came were falling left and right. Mei just grit her teeth and kept moving, following Ganjyu. The sound seemed to stir Hanatarou from his semi-conscious state. Without warning, he jumped from Ganjyu's arms, and began to run back in Ichigo's direction. Mei paused, and watched as Ganjyu quickly stopped him by putting his neck in an arm lock. "Let me go!" Hanatarou screamed, "If we don't go help him, Ichigo-san will die!"

"Idiot! Even if we go back, what can we possibly do to help?!" Ganjyu yelled right back. Hanatarou looked to Mei n a mixture of pleading and fear. "Both you and I will just get stunned by Kenpachi's reiatsu again! How can we be of any help if we are stunned?!" Hanatarou looked to Mei, about to plead for her help when she looked down, avoiding his eyes.

"Don't do it… don't ask me to go back there..." Mei held herself, clutching her own arms to keep her body from fighting at Ichigo's side. "I already promised him I'd keep Rukia safe, I can't be worrying about him now." Ganjyu looked down in shame.

"The only one among us who can defeat that monster is Ichigo… as much as I hate to admit it; we will just get in his way." He let Hanatarou go, since he seemed to have lost the will to fight. "Thus we have to keep moving forward! Ichigo came all the way to Soul Society to save this Kuchiki! He has to want to save her with his own hands! Yet he has given that mission to us, and stayed back alone. In doing so, he is telling us that rescuing Kuchiki is the top priority- no matter the cost! Don't you see? He has entrusted us with the task that he is willing to throw his life away for! So we have to do everything in our power to rescue her! If we waste valuable time here, then we waste his sacrifice!" Hanatarou now turned in shock to Ganjyu. "So let's go!" He said, and Mei nodded, a determined firmness now in her eyes.

"Okay!" Hanatarou answered as they all began to run again.


	12. The Fallen

**Disclaimer: I own Mei and the other OCs, part of the plot, but nothing else. Enjoy!**

****

They ran for what seemed like hours, but what was in truth only thirty or so minutes. _That Spirit Pressure really did a number on our energy levels, _Mei thought with disdain. If this rate of energy expenditure kept up, they'd have to take a couple breaks before reaching the Senzaikyuu. Mei scowled, that wasn't an option she'd prefer. She was just about to tell Ganjyu to slow down, that they needed to save their energy, when it hit her. Chad's reiatsu went out. She froze, turning around to look in the direction it last appeared. Hanatarou motioned for Ganjyu to stop, seeing Mei's eyes go wide with fear for her friend. "Chad…" She whispered, searching for his reitsu to no avail. "Damnit!" She yelled, punching the wall of the building on her right. Dust blew out as a giant hole appeared where she had hit. She brought her hands up to her head, gripping it as she squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears back. "Damnit…" She mumbled, sinking to her knees as she bent over, unwanted tears falling from her eyes. _Why?_ She interrogated herself, feeling responsible for his death. She had left him all alone, to flirt with some random guy. She had left him, and never caught up to him. She had left him, telling him to go on. _She_ had left _him_. All of her memories of the strong, silent guy floated through her mind, bringing her back to the first day she met him.

**Flashback**

Mei waltzed out of Hiiragi Jr. High's gate, head held high and bag slung over her shoulder. Her step was quick as she crossed the road, not even glancing at the classmates around her. Her thoughts were nowhere in particular, she just happened to be in a bad mood that day. The reason for her bad mood was simple: her crush moved away the day before, and even though Mei didn't feel like going to school, she still had too. She huffed again as she thought about all the stuck-up girls who made fun of her just because her crush happened to be a girl; and that just-so-happened to make her bi.

"WHY WONT YOU DIE?!" Mei paused and blinked, taking a few steps back to look down the alley where the yell had come from. Her classmates moved on, not wanting to draw the attention of the thugs in it. Mei watched the scene with rapt interest; it wasn't everyday you saw a group of thugs try to take down a giant. Or at least he looked like a giant. Tan skin, darker than hers, was matched with short, curly dark brown hair, and brown eyes. He stood still up against the wall, huge muscled arms not even lifted to defend himself. There were guys all around him, punching and kicking him, but the giant wouldn't fall. "Tch, fine! Boys, let give a taste of what we really have!" The one who screamed before said angrily. He pulled out a knife, and the others did the same. Mei's eyes narrowed, that crossed the line. The giant just stood there, letting them do what they pleased.

"OI! Punks! Didn't your Mama's teach you not to bring knives to a fist fight?!" Mei ran at them. The leader turned his head to look over his shoulder, just as Mei's foot shot out to high kick him in the face. His head snapped back around, turning his body and sending him backwards. The giant's eyes widened as the thug fell onto his back. The other thugs blinked, shocked at the picture of a junior high girl taking down their leader. The shock soon passed.

"Get her!" One of them yelled. Mei mentally counted, there were four of them. Two coming at her from each side. She sent an uppercut to the jaw of the first one that came on her right. The ones at her left drew their knives back, ready to slice her up. Just as the knife made contact with the fabric of her shirt, the owner fell. Mei glanced to her left, the giant had punched the guy in the gut, knocking him unconscious immediately. She smirked, _so he does have fight in him_. The one she uppercutted, flew back into the wall of the alley, hitting his head a knocking himself out. _Two down, two to go!_ Mei thought as the other one came at her. He thrust his knife out, making Mei dodge to the right. She grabbed his wrist with her right hand, and swung her left palm foreward, smashing it right above his left elbow. The thug howled in pain as his arm snapped in two, accidentally dropping the knife. Wasting no time, she swung his arm over her head, positioning herself in front of him. Grabbing his head with her right hand, she brought it down in time with brining her knee up, breaking his nose. She sent a final left handed punch to the base of his skull, knocking him out of conscious. Mei looked to her left where the giant was standing, staring at her. He had finished with the final thug just as she did.

"I'm Mei, from Hiiragi Junior High. What's your name?" She asked him, smiling.

"Sado Yasutora; Mashiba Junior High." Her eyes widened, _the_ Sado Yasutora? The giant? Mei scanned him over, the rumors were pretty accurate.

"Why were those guys beating on you? You don't seem the type to do anything to anybody." Mei cocked her head to the side, and just as he was about to answer, she snapped her fingers, a lightbulb going off. "Ah! Unless they just thought that bringing you down would increase their reputation! Am I right?" Sado nodded. "Well that's rude of them! Idiotic thugs. Hey, do you have the time?" Mei asked, feeling the need for conversation. Silence would be awkward at this point. He nodded, pulling a cell phone out of his back pocket.

"3:15; why?" He asked politely. Mei's eye widened with shock.

"CRAP!! I'M GOING TO BE LATE!! SEE YOU AROUND!!" She yelled as she zoomed out of the alley, racing to the Urahara Shop with all the speed her body could muster.

**Present**

She sniffed as Hanatarou walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss but… we should get going." She sniffed again, wiping her eyes one last time. _He's right... _She told herself as she stood back up. _He knew the risk in coming. I made a promise to Ichigo. A promise to myself. That's one of us down, but no-one else. No-one else until we save Rukia. _Mei looked firmly ahead, Senzaikyuu was getting closer by the minute.

_We __will__ save Rukia._

Mei nodded to Hanatarou, who in turn nodded to Ganjyu. They ran on.

**Eastern Deserts**

The sound of keys jingling as they rocked against each other rang out through the nearly empty dungeon. A mail-clad warrior with a broad-sword at his side strolled the halls, his armor dull and over-used. He stopped at the only occupied cell. It was a shut door, made of a dusty brown stone. He raised his right hand, left hand resting easily against the hilt of his sword. His hand grabbed a little knob that was at his eye level on the door, and pulling it to the right, his slid open a little seeing slit that would've otherwise been unseen against the door. His dark brown eyes stretched through the darkness, attempting to find his charge. He smirked, finding her broken figure where it usually was on the sandy floor. He shut the slit, and turning on his heel, he continued on his route.

The broken figure shifted in the darkness, her arms hanging above her head, bent at the elbows. Her legs were splayed before her, still tan even through the darkness she had lived in for twenty years. Long, wavy, matted hair went to mid-thigh, and fell all around her. Brown eyes searched through the darkness, staring past the memorized patterns of the walls surrounding her to the door. She licked her parched pink lips, popping her fingers as she twitched them.

"Isis… what number round was that?" Her voice cracked, dry and pained.

"Second. Only two more before they bring you your food for the day." The materialized zanpakuto settled into the sand beside her master.

"Thank you, Isis. Any word from Khepry?"

"None… it is odd, though. Nephthys has now embodied herself in a zanpakuto, and attached herself to the soul of a human. I do not know why, but it seems she was just now able to make contact. Before when I tried to reach her, it felt as though there was a barrier in my way, as if she were too far away. This does not happen when I try to contact Thoth in the Under Realm. But now, the barrier is gone. Nephthys has finally joined the rest of the Gods and came to the people. But it is odd…" The woman looked to her zanpakuto, a kite with golden-traced feathers and beautiful gold eyes.

"What is so odd?" She finally asked, snapping her zanpakuto out of its thinking.

"A God in the Under Realm Royal Family, like me, Osiris, my mother and father: Nut and Geb, and even that bastard Set, usually only attaches itself to a member of the Royal Family here in Soul Society. Like me with you, Osiris with Khai, Nut and Geb to your mother and father, and Set to Hondo. For Nepthys to attach herself to the soul of a human… it does not seem like something she would do." The zanpakuto changed its tone to a gentle one, seeing the weariness in her master's eyes. "Sleep, Tahira. A queen deserves a prettier bed, yes, but this is all you have. You will wake before the meal comes, of that I'm sure."

"I know, Isis. I know…" And with that, Tahira leaned her head against her shoulder, shutting her eyes. Sleep took her mind.

**Seireitei**

Ganjyu, Mei, and Hanatarou leaned over the edge of the roof, watching the two guards below tease and make fun of each other. "So how are we going to do this?" Mei asked either of them. Ganjyu pulled out a rope, tying it to the little pole that stuck out of the middle of the roof.

"I'll swing down and take them out." He said, grabbing the rope.

"Wait!" Hanatarou stopped him with a whisper. He pulled out a small vial with greenish liquid inside it. "Let me handle one." He peeled himself over the edge, opening the vial and pouring a few drops over it on top of one of the guards foreheads.

"Now!" Mei nodded to Ganjyu, who slid down the rope just as the guard who had the liquid dripped on him fainted. Ganjyu easily took care of the other guard by elbowing him in the face, sending him tumbling to the other side of the walkway. Hanatarou slid own the rope next, with Mei after him.

"You over did it, Ganjyu-san. So cruel…" Hanatarou half-scolded half-complained as he looked at the damage Ganjyu did to the guard.

"Shut up! What did you do to the other guy?" Hanatarou pulled out the vial again as Mei hit the ground.

"This? This is a Shinten, it's a tranquilizer. One drop on the unprotected skin of someone with low Reiatsu, and that person will faint." Mei sweatdropped, medic's actually used stuff that dangerous? Scary…

"You-you have something that scary?" Ganjyu asked, sweating and holding up an arm as if to block it from getting near him.

"Is it?" Hanatarou asked innocently. "But it's completely useless on strong guys."

"Guys…" When both of them looked to her, she raised a hand, pointing to the door at the end of a long, straight, narrow walkway. "We're almost there. All that's left is the door." Mei jogged over to it, Hanatarou and Ganjyu right behind her. The door was narrow, maybe a meter in width, but it was tall, at least thrice that in height. It had four small circles engraved in a row. When they got there, Ganjyu crossed his arms with a smirk.

"It's a roll-up door, huh? How should I open it...?"

"It's okay." Hanatarou said, lifting a weird-looking five pointed wooden block out of his uniform. Mei watched in curiosity as he held it up for Ganjyu to see. "Last night, I went to the storage room in the sewers and took the back-up key." Mei looked at him, shocked.

"Hey, hey, are you sure you wanna do that?" Ganjyu asked, concerned for the medic's well-being.

"It's not a problem… it just that last night I was thinking. Ichigo-san was fighting so had and sustaining injuries all over his body, but all I did was run away. That's so cowardly. I want to rescue Runkia-san too, so I should do my best to achieve that goal. No matter how I get punished for it." He then gave a pathetic smile, "Even though I say that, the best things I can do are only things like stealing keys. So, I'm really use-" At that point, he was cut-off by suffocation inside Mei's breasts. She twirled him around, still hugging his head.

"Ooh, Hanatarou! You're just the sweetest guy ever! Why can't more guys be like you?! You're so amazing you little fiend, you!"

"O-oi! Mei! You're killing him!" Ganjyu raised a hand, trying to stop her. She paused, looking down at the blue-faced Shinigami.

"Sorry!" She said quickly, patting his head as he gasped for air. "It's just, I was so happy. After all, stealing a key is far more than enough." He looked up to her with wide-eyes. "Really." He nodded, taking the key and putting it inside the door. He turned it to the left, and after a *click* sounded, he pulled it out. The door started opening upwards slowy.

"Anyways, both of you are trying so hard to rescue her, this Rukia must be an out-of-the-world cutie. Yeah?" He squatted down, about to get a look.

"No… it's not like that…" Hanatarou insisted before Mei punched him on top of the head, giving him a bump. Ganjyu looked at Mei as she gave him a thumbs-up and a grin.

"You're damn right she is!" Ganjyu smiled as he leaned back down, smiling into the darkness.

"Don't be shy! Let me check out her face right now! Hello~! Rukia-chan~!"Mei furrowed her brows as he stopped smiling immediately, eyes going wide. She looked through the door, which was now the majority of the way up. There stood her goddess in a white kimono, her medium-length black hair flaring out at the end with the exception of the one bang that found its way across her face. Her violet eyes looked at them with a mixture of shock and fear. Mei swooned as hearts took her eyes and a grin came to her lips. She practically floated over to her goddess hearts popping up randomly everywhere. Grabbing her into a tight hug and kissing her on the cheek, Mei sighed in pure joy.

"M-Mei! What are you doing here?!" Rukia exclaimed as her violet eye went wide. All Mei heard was "I missed you so much!", so she lifted her off the ground and twirled her, wrapping her arms around her goddess' waist.

"It's me, Rukia-san! We came to save you!" Hanatarou exclaimed as Mei moved behind Rukia, still having her wrapped in her arms, and leaned into her shoulder, taking in the goddess' essence.

"Hanatarou! Why are you here?" She asked as he grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards the exit. At first, Mei got multiple tick marks for having her angel snatched right out of her arms, but then remembering her duty, she grabbed her other hand and followed them.

"I'll tell you later! Come! Ganjyu-san! We have to hurry and escape…" He faded off as he saw the look on Ganjyu's face. "Wh-what's wrong, Ganjyu-san?" Mei looked at him, hearts leaving her eyes for the first time. His face was a look of pure shock, staring at Rukia. Mei watched as Rukia scanned him over before her eyes went wide. "What's wrong? Ganjyu-san! Hey!"

"The symbol on his outfit…" Rukia muttered to herself, "The explosive swirl of dissension… You're a member of the Shiba family?"

"Eh? Do-do you know each other?" Hanatarou asked, looking back to Rukia. After a pause, Ganjyu finally answered.

"Yeah, I do… I'll never forget that face. She's… the Shinigami who killed my brother!"

****

**Wanna know how much reviewing drives me to write? I read the latest review posted and was all: "Awww, how nice! He deserves another chapter!" So I literally took my day off, got my butt up and worked on this pretty much all day. Yeah, I really do love it.**


	13. Cowardice Converts, Mei's Fury!

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed/favorite/alerted! Sorry for the late update!**

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"Wha-What are you talking about Ganjyu-san? Rukia-san would never kill someone…" Mei watched in silence as the scene unfolded. Her hand didn't leave Rukia's as Ganjyu spoke.

"Aniki's body was covered in sword wounds… he was cut in the neck and stabbed in the chest!" His tone switched from depression to anger as he glared at Rukia with hate-filled eyes, "If he died by a hollow, how could he have sword wounds?! Plus, she said it herself!" His voice rose to a yell, "She said '_I killed him_'!!"

Rukia's eyes fell to the ground, "Its okay, Hanatarou… he's telling the truth."

"R-Rukia-san?" Hanatarou stuttered, shocked she'd admit to something of the sort.

"The eldest member of the Shiba Family, your brother," Her eyes went hard as they looked up to meet Ganjyu's, and it didn't go unnoticed by Mei that her grip tightened in the slightest. "…Shiba Kaien died by my hands." Something inside Ganjyu snapped.

"Ah!" Hanatarou exclaimed as he was pushed aside. Ganjyu charged at Rukia. Mei started to move forward, only for Rukia to stop her attempt. She barely raised the hand Mei formerly held, pressing lightly against Mei's stomach. Hazel eyes blinked in shock and worry just as Ganjyu took hold of Rukia's collar. He pulled their faces closer together.

"Go on, do it. If it's by you, I will have no regrets in losing my life." Rukia egged him on. Ganjyu pulled back a fist as both Hanatarou and Mei moved to stop him. Hanatarou got there first, holding Ganjyu's fist back with tears springing to his eyes.

"Pl-Please don't! That's not the reason we came here! Aren't we here to rescue her?! Weren't we entrusted with this task?! All of us?!"

A sinking feeling came to their stomachs as all of their eyes went wide in unison. Their shoulder's sagged under the pressure of the heavy reiatsu coming toward them. None of them could move, and Mei started to feel her body ache under the pressure. They broke out into a sweat, but something was off to Mei.

She recognized that reiatsu.

"Wh-what is that?!" Ganjyu yelled, letting go of Rukia and turning to the entrance. All eyes faced that way, "Someone is coming!" Hanatarou let out a short yell.

"Tha-that's!"

Semi-long black hair flowed easily as his even steps were taken toward them. Hard black eyes did not glare, mere stared at them coldly. The familiar aura made sense. She had seen this man before. This was the man that nearly killed Ichigo. This was the man that took his own little sister to her death. That was the haori she glared at as he walked away into Soul Society.

That was Kuchiki Byakuya.

Mei ground out his name, feeling her anger boil within her. No way would she let them take her goddess again. No way would she sit by and cry when she could have a chance to stop this.

But still, her muscles didn't move.

"Kuchiki Byakuya… captain of the sixth division." Hanatarou informed Ganjyu; both of them had eyes wide with fear.

Mei's were narrowed in anger.

"H-he's Kuchiki Byakuya?" Ganjyu stuttered.

"D-do you know him Ganjyu-san?" Hanatarou looked to him.

"Of course I do… isn't Kuchiki the head of the four noble families? He's said to be the strongest member in the family's history… isn't he the most famous captain in the Gotei 13?" His mouth drew into a stretched frown as he started to panic, "This is bad… why did he appear at a time like this? Not good… we can't win with just the three of us. M-maybe we should just beg him to spare our lives…"

Mei's eyes widened as she stared at Ganjyu in shock. He wouldn't… was he really that big a coward?

"What are you saying Ganjyu-san?! Let's just run away and take Rukia-san with us!" Hanatarou attempted to snap him out of it.

"Idiot! Where could we run to?! The bridge is the only way out! You want us to defeat him and run, throwing away our lives in the process?!" He shoved a finger accursedly at Rukia. Mei 'tch'ed, that was the last straw. It was far too rude to go unpunished. "You want me to throw away my life for her?! She killed my Aniki! I would never throw my life away for her!" He lowered his voice to a deadly drop. "Not this woman…"

A resounding slap echoed through the building.

Mei had stepped forward in that instant, smacking Ganjyu hard on his cheek. He had not only proven his point, but had put others- both Rukia _and_ Hanatarou- down as well. She was sick of it. If she had known he'd be such a coward, she never would've allowed him to come.

So what if she killed his brother? They had made a promise to Ichigo to save her. Ganjyu had made that promise, whether he knew who he was rescuing at the time or not, he gave his word.

And he was a bloody coward for not sticking to it.

"Mei…" Rukia faded, watching her with wide eyes. She thought she deserved this hatred, this grudge against her. She thought she deserved to be abandoned.

That pissed her off even more.

Her glare seemed to convey her message of extreme anger and disappointment better than any of her words could.

"M-Mei-san! That was uncalled for!" Ever the pacifist, Hanatarou stepped forward, protecting the stock-still Ganjyu. He looked right at her, right into her hazel eyes.

He saw the message very clearly.

Mei looked away, facing the bridge. Kuchiki Byakuya still approached at his own, time-taking pace. It was obvious he knew he had them trapped. He was taking his time with the kill. Mei glowered at the no-good brother that threw her goddess to the dogs.

"Hanatarou, take Rukia and the coward and run. I'll handle him."

She started walking forward, summoning her zanpakuto to hand.

"No! Mei-san! I'll hold him off! I-I can do it! I'm not as important as you and Ganjyu are! Mei-san!" Hanatarou yelled after her, moving to chase her only to be stopped by Ganjyu laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's get her out of here." He said, freezing Hanatarou in place. Mei kept moving forward, walking into the bright sunlight of Seireitei. Rukia seemed to finally come out of shock, as she suddenly lurched forward, trying to stop her friend.

"STOP! MEI!! HE'LL KILL YOU!!! NOOO!!! MEI!!! STOP!!!" She screamed as Ganjyu caught her. She struggled against him with every ounce of her being. She didn't want the death of another person on her hands, especially the death of a friend like Mei. Mei didn't look back, knowing she'd kick the noble's noble ass, or die trying.

Which would most likely be the latter, but she truly didn't care. She was far too angry to care anymore.

"Kuchiki Byakuya…" Mei spat, drawing her zanpakuto as she kept her pace walking toward him. His name felt like venom on her tongue.

"So you're the presence I felt… and I see you have a few bugs with you." He drawled. Mei glared; his noble-like cool was pissing her off big time. "I'm surprised to see you again. So the boy is still alive thanks to you."

"No, you can give my Uncle your thanks for that." His calm demeanor wasn't challenged one bit.

Rukia finally burst out of Ganjyu's grasp, racing for Mei with all her strength. The two of them chased after her as she bolted out of the room, only to fall to her knees once she cleared the walls of the tower. After being locked up for so long, not feeling any reiatsu at all, her body was too weak to be able to withstand it.

"After I'm finished with you, I'll clear the world of the presence of the two bugs behind you." He drew his zanpakuto, intent on making this a quick fight.

"Ahh, but you see Kuchiki, you won't be." Mei taunted.

"We shall see. Scatter, Senbonzakura." A flurry of pink occurred as his blade melted away into countless small pink petals. Mei's eyes narrowed, she didn't know what was up with that zanpakuto, but like hell she wouldn't give her all fighting back. Suddenly, there was a flurry of pink before the petals started charging toward her in a head-on attack.

"Pro-WAH!!!" She was suddenly flung backwards four meters onto her butt by a very gallant looking Ganjyu, who took her place for the blow. "GANJYU!!!" She yelled; eyes wide with terror. The pink engulfed him. Nephthys rattled to the ground, temporarily forgotten.

Why?! Why had he done such a thing?! She could've handled it! That fool! Why couldn't he keep to being a coward?! Having two people sacrifice themselves is far worse than one!

Finally the pink receded, leaving a torn to pieces Ganjyu standing there. Hanatarou and Rukia screamed his name, their yells of despair filling the air. Blood sprayed from his many long and deep cuts across his body. He sank backward onto his knees, where he fell to the ground. The red, sticky substance coated his outfit, seeping to the floor. "Ganjyu!!!" Mei yelled again, rushing to his side. His body was almost unrecognizable past the cuts that marred his figure. Mei pressed her hands to the wounds, trying to stop the blood. "You idiot!"

Why did he have to go and be brave like that? Why couldn't he just get Rukia out of here like she asked?

"Hmph, I suppose it was a fitting death for a member of the Shiba clan." Kuchiki eyed the man on the ground with no pity. He was going to crush the bug later, anyways. Mei's breath was caught in her throat and anger filled her every pore.

"MEI!!! RUN!! YOU CAN'T WIN!! MEI!! PLEASE!! RUN!!" Rukia's pleas fell on deaf ears.

He would pay. Kuchiki Byakuya would pay very dearly for doing this to her friend. She stood solemnly, blood seeping onto her kimono and covering her hands.

"Nephthys…" She called; the blade appeared in her hand. Kuchiki's eyes widened before they narrowed. Mei's bangs shadowed her eyes as she sliced her blade forward. "Protect your charge." Her zanpakuto glowed before morphing into her fan. Without hesitation, Kuchiki sent another attack to her.

"NII-SAMA!! PLEASE STOP!! NII-SAMA!!!" Rukia turned her attention to her ever stoic brother, who ignored her requests as well.

This time, Mei knew they weren't just petals. Judging by the cuts across Ganjyu's body, these were blades. No measly breeze could help her with those.

Ganjyu's fall wouldn't be in vain.

Mei sneered at the oncoming group of pink heading for her. She poured her energy into her fan, a plan developing in her mind. She swung her fan back, opening it. Just as the attack was a mere meter away, she swung forward, releasing her energy-filled winds straight into the blur of pink. The blades scattered at the force of her blow, leaving a direct path to Kuchiki. Mei immediately charged, taking the opening.

"Nebt-Het!" She yelled, feeling the fan fall to dust and an extra pair of arms sprout from her shoulders. Kuchiki's eyes widened as Mei swung a fist for him. He shunpoed to her left, where she quickly dropped her leg into a kick. Barely any contact was made before he shunpoed out of the way once more, this time behind her. Following through with her kick, she stood suddenly, putting her whole body into a left punch.

Her mark hit as both of her left fists collided with his abdomen.

Kuchiki's eyes were frantic for a second as he once again sped away, this time ending up behind her four or so meters. She turned to face him, watching with deadly narrowed eyes as he swung his sword hilt back, ready to attack again. She wouldn't be able to dodge this attack, and she doubted she could summon her fan forth quickly enough to disperse the attack once more.

Just as he was about to swing his arm forward for what Mei knew would be the turning point in the fight, his hand was caught. Both of the fighters look to the pale man with wide eyes. He had shocked, yet caring brown eyes and wore a captain's haori. Long yet straight white hair went far past his shoulders. Mei's eyes narrowed as she grit her teeth, another opponent?!

"Ho ho… that was scary…" He breezed off with a slight smile, looking to his fellow captain. Kuchiki turned his head to watch the man over his shoulder. "I think that's enough… don't you agree, Kuchiki-taichou?" The man dropped Kuchiki's wrist.

"Ca-Captian Ukitake?!" Rukia piped, shocked at his sudden appearance. Mei stood straight, eyes locked on her new target. He didn't seem to be a threat, but she didn't know for sure as of yet.

"Oh Kuchiki!" He saluted the girl with a grin, "You've lost weight! How are you feeling?" Before Rukia could respond, her brother interjected.

"What's the meaning of this? Ukitake…" He asked; voice deadly. Ukitake looked at him with wide eyes, as if shocked he could possibly be asking something of that sort.

"Hey hey! That's my line! Releasing your zanpakuto without permission is a first class offense, even if you are fighting ryoka! What were you thinking?"

"It's a war time situation; the ban on releasing zanpakuto was lifted." He explained calmly, but clearly still irritated. Ukitake's eyes widened even further, he was clearly missing something.

"War time situation?! How can the invasion of a few ryoka end up like that?! Is this related to Aizen's murder?"

Mei's eyes narrowed, what murder? She didn't have time to think about it, either, because another massive reiatsu came crashing down upon her. Her eyes widened at its sheer strength.

She gasped as she recognized it. Immediately, her eyes found its source as he floated in the air, lifted by a weird dragon wing of some sort.

Her voice was hardly a whisper.

"Ichigo…"

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Once again, sorry for the late update. And before I can say 'it's completely my fault', I must say it indeed isn't. Here's the rant: What's with all these fillers lately in the anime? I've almost stopped watching altogether! It's extremely annoying, having to wait week after bloody week for these fillers to end! And yes, I read the manga, but it's starting to get really boring, reeeeeeally fast. Do you know how hard it is to get inspiration and ideas for writing past all that crap? Hmph! If this keeps up, I might completely run out of ideas for the story. Stupid nuisances, blocking my ideas…. x( ! I am very angry!

**Nonetheless, special thanks to Koizumi Romi, war90, Fan, kiara, weaseldale, Drayga Bas, ****xxxulquiorraholicxxx, Matthew Waller, and Twightfever-FutureCullen! Nowadays, with the way this show is heading, your reviews really are ALL that drive me to write.**

**And well, maybe a bit of the fact that Mei's just really fun to write. Ugh, she's really serious in this chapter, I'm not quite sure I like it… :/ … be expecting the happy, flirty Mei back soon. But hey, we all need our serious moments, right? Oh! I've decided by the way, this shall be a Yuri fic! But don't worry; it'll still be hilarious and as gut-busting as I can possibly make it. Never shall the flirty Mei die! Review please!**


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